I Lost A World the Other Day
by temporaryinsanity91
Summary: Kim and Ron's best summer vacation ever goes up in smoke when Ron receives devastating news and a twisted plot for world domination reveals itself, shattering Ron's life, forcing him into the dark, lonely world of villainy to plan his revenge, and costing him his relationship with the people he loves the most. will he get his life back? T for foul language and innuendos.
1. Songbird

**well i guess i'm coming full circle lol. i've written for most of my favorite shows, movies, etc., and i've dabbled in different styles of writing, including this YouPOV twilight fic i'm a bit stuck on... i found my old KimPossible fanfics that i had written when i was in fifth and sixth grade, and i got inspired to write a new one (to be honest the old ones sucked) so here we are embarking on the wildest misadventures Kim and Ron will face yet.**

**thanks to my superbeta Sentinel and his sidekick CB73 because i'm pretty sure they have worked on at least one of these chapters together, and thanks to Disney and the producers of KimPossible for letting me borrow the characters that made my childhood (and tweenhood) a bit more exciting (Don't worry my _real_ disclaimer will come at the end of the story).**

**In the immortal words of Dr. Drakken, "Let's get this party started old skool, yo!" (and a teaser if you remember what episode that comes from WITHOUT looking it up on wikipedia or youtube or anything else...)**

* * *

_"To you, I'll give the world  
To you, I'll never be cold  
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,  
It's alright, I know it's right._

_And the songbirds are singing,_  
_Like they know the score,_  
_And I love you, I love you, I love you,_  
_Like never before."_

_-Fleetwood Mac, Songbird_

* * *

"Five, six, seven, eight!" I count out loud as the cheer squad runs through the routine near to flawlessly. Too bad _near-flawlessly_ doesn't win us the Cheerleading National Championship. I stop and turn to watch them on a part that I know is complicated. Shaking my head at one of the twin girls, Jenny, I pause the music. "Here, Jen, do it like this, try it with me." I count out the steps slowly and she sees her mistake. After a couple tries, I have them take it from the top of that section. I smile. "Yes, Jenny, you've got it." her twin Jeannie beams at her in approval. They are freshmen here on a cheer scholarship, and I like them a lot. They work hard. They are also some of the closest friends I have here.

When they all pause for a moment for drinks, I let them take their time. "When you guys are done we'll start again and then I want to work with the tumblers and the flyers, the rest of the night, so anyone who isn't doing any of that will be free to go- oh, hey Ron." I smile softly at my boyfriend of almost three years. Tall, thin frame but rather toned with all the bad-guy-fighting that we do, with messy blonde hair and warm honey brown eyes, Ron Stoppable is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.

When he reaches me, his hands go to my waist before wrapping me in a hug. His nose brushes my cheek, and he presses a kiss into my hair. "Hi, KP," he breathes when he releases me. He smiles warmly at me, and I can feel my brain overload and quit. My insides have officially melted, brain included. He gives a small chuckle, probably at my speechlessness, and presses a kiss to the corner of my lips.

"Uh... hi," I mumble back, too distracted by the look in his eyes. They're warm and... tired. Clouded. Something is up, and I snap alert. "Long day?"

He shakes his head, his shoulders sagging. "Something's up with Hana."

"What is it? Does she need a doctor? I bet my mom has the hook-ups to some great pediatricians-"

"No, KP. Nothing like that. Just... when I talked to her today- she speaks so clearly now, KP, it's amazing- I could tell that she was off. She's never not as giggly and bubbly, you know?"

"She probably just misses you."

"Maybe." He doesn't seem convinced.

"Ron," I raise an eyebrow, "she's three. What kind of drama could a three-year-old have? Epic diaper rash... potty training problems... so NOT a big deal."

"Well she's not a normal three-year-old, you know. Remember, little miss Tot Kwon Do can run on the ceiling!" He sighs. "I have a bad feeling, KP."

When he says that and he's being completely serious, he's never wrong. Of course when he's babbling about monkey conspiracies it's hard to tell when he's being serious and when he's exaggerating, but this time it's completely and utterly no joke.

The team gets back into their formations and I sigh. I hand him my new Kimmunicator. It's small with a touch screen and I don't wear it on my wrist anymore. "Why don't you spell Wade while I wrap up practice, see if he thinks there's anything suspicious going on okay? He'll let us know and we'll be ready if something comes up okay?"

He gives me a tired half-smile. "Thank you. I love you."

Half way through tumbling practice, one of the guys, a tall muscular guy with dark hair and icy eyes (which have no appeal for me, having Ron's expressive warm honey ones) walks over to me, grabbing his water bottle. I wait stiffly for him to speak, knowing it's probably some lame attempt to hit on me. I plaster a fake smile on my face as he speaks. "Hey, Kim... congrats on making cheer captain for next year."

"Oh, thanks a lot, Blaine," I answer him, "I'm glad I get to lead you guys to nationals next year _again, _now if you will excuse me, I have to tumblers to train and my _boyfriend_ is waiting for me."

"Right..."

I leave him standing there babbling about going out to a movie next weekend and focus back on the people who are tumbling and the flyers, making sure that they have the proper spotting and landing techniques.

I catch Ron glaring dully at Blaine, but he turns back to Wade and I make it a point to tune in what they are saying while I work. They are talking about setting up surveillance at Ron's house.

I help Jeannie and Jenny with their tumbling, which apparently I made look way easier than it actually is, and when they finally have their double round-off, double back flip sequence that ended with them in handstands down solid, I work with the flyers so that they knew just what to do. I myself am a flyer, and Ron will be seriously pissed if one of the guys drops me, so I make sure they know what they are supposed to do before I let myself be launched over Jenny's handstand, executing a perfect front layout before landing safe and sound. We try all the sequences again before everyone calls it a night after that, and I praise them for their hard work. Nationals will be cake. They'll all be sore tomorrow though...

"Let's go home, KP." Ron's arms wrap around me from behind, and I lean into him. I know he's tired from all the homework he's had to do this week. He was at this cute little Asian bistro lounge we dubbed our new hang out, reading and studying for an exam before he came to pick me up.

He's changed a lot since the whole "aliens-from-Lorwardia-wherever-the-hell-that-is" invasion. He worked so hard that summer, he'd come to my house to see me only to pass out on my couch in exhaustion, saving every penny for fall at Lowerton Community College, where he was starting his double major in Business and Culinary Arts. It was a tough year, him being in Lowerton and me being in USC, but we made it work. He got promoted to assistant manager at Smarty Mart, and he worked full time the whole year while kicking major bad-guy butt AND maintaining a near-perfect GPA. Who knew that lazy highschool Ron could be so responsible? Maturity works on him. Even the bad guys have stopped seeing him for his 'buffoonery' and have begun to see him as a real threat and my very competent partner. Not that he still doesn't play the comic relief role...

I chuckle as we walk home, and he of course wonders what's so funny.

"I was laughing because Professor Dementor called you Captain Underpants last week. Shego says everyone calls you that now." Shego and Dr. Drakken... are something else. Drakken finally figured out that being evil wasn't his thing, and he and Shego have this weird on again off again non-dating thing going on that frankly I'd rather not think about. Shudder. Even though Drakken officially retired, Shego didn't ever stop stealing or breaking and entering or generally causing mayhem. However, the two of us had come to a mutual understanding after the Lorwardian Invasion Incident, and we often call the green bitch to cause mayhem or break into evil lairs for information or to steal something that could be used for destruction. As it turned out, Shego just likes being a badass, she doesn't really care which side she works for as long as she gets to break some stuff, leave a mess, and injure someone, and get paid. When she's not a pain in the ass, she's actually pretty smart and levelheaded. And her sarcasm, when not directed at me, is pretty hilarious. It's clear why Dr. D keeps her around.

"Well it's not my fault!" Ron is defending himself, "My pants always fall off, and there were three guys on my ass. I had no choice but to kick them off and keep fighting. Besides, that distracted them long enough for you to make your move."

I chuckle again. "Brave and silly. Classic Ron."

He winks. "You know it, KP. It's how I roll."

I kiss his cheek and run up the four flights of stairs home. Home for us is a cozy two bedroom apartment with a spacious kitchen that Ron practically lives in, and a living room with a fireplace and comfy furniture in muted colors. Living with Ron is as easy as breathing... well, except the classic icky boy stuff. Socks on the living room floor, the toilet seat the wrong way, and ugh, there he goes taking off his clothes and leaving them on the closet floor again!

I clear my throat and level him with my bitch brow.

He nervously scrubs the back of his neck, a habit he picked up from his dad, and gingerly picks up the stuff and puts it in the hamper. After we're changed for the night, and I'm done lecturing him about the dirty laundry, we head for the living room.

Ron commandeers the remote, putting on a movie, and I settle into the couch with my feet in his lap to study for my abnormal psych exam tomorrow. His hands automatically go to my legs, and he gently rubs my feet and calves while intent on the movie. See? Easy as breathing.

My Kimmunicator vibrates and I absently press the connect button. "Sitch me, Wade- Mom! Hi!"

"Hi honey. How's school?"

"Stressful. I have three exams and cheerleading nationals."

"Sounds intense."

"Pray the bad guys take a break."

Mom nods in sympathy. "Hows Ron?"

"Watching a ridiculous action movie."

"Hey, hey," Ron interjects, "_Revenge of the Squirrel Ninja_ is totally badass!"

"Right, because squirrel ninjas are totally _badass_. Are they even real?"

Mom is laughing as we argue over the stupid movie.

"Hey, Rufus is a monkey ninja, and he's not even a monkey! He's a naked mole rat."

I roll my eyes as Rufus squeaks his agreement. "I suppose anything is possible."

"Damn straight, KP. Hi, Mrs. Doctor P! Sorry about all that. How's it hangin?"

"The usual, Ron. Brain surgery, twins blowing up something-or-other..."

"Tweebs," I interject under my breath.

"... how about you, Ron?"

"School is great! Hey, you know it's sorta sexy watching KP do all her cheerleading stuff. Who knew she was that flexible...?"

"TOOOOOOO MUCH INFORMATION RONALD!"

Cue nervous chuckle from Ron. He and my dad are a conundrum. They get along fine, but they both get really awkward when it comes to me. Right now Dad's mumbling about virginal daughters and Ron's rubbing his neck again. I reach my limit.

"BYE mom and dad!"

Mom laughs her ass off and hangs up. I disconnect and throw the Kimmunicator at Ron, who ducks with a yelp.. "What was that for?"

"Weirding out my dad."

"I didn't know he was there! Your mom was a cheerleader too, you know. Maybe your dad knows about all the flex-"

"Eww! Please stop. Please."

Ron grins and steals my book and highlighter.

"Hey!"

"Hey back, Kimmie."

"Give me my book!"

"Not a chance. You need to get rid of the parental unit images, and I have just the cure." his smirk turns mischievous. He reaches for the hem of my shirt and I smirk back at him. "How very nice of you."

"Thank you." he pulls me toward him as the clothes keep coming off.

"You're such a guy," I deadpan at him as he carries me into our room.

He just grins. "A very lucky guy! Action in movie followed by action with the bon-diggety-est girlfriend ever made... every man in the world wishes he were Ron Stoppable."

"You're so charming."

There's that obnoxious grin again. "Charming is my middle name."

His lips claim mine, and I forget all about the obnoxiousness.

* * *

We're celebrating our three year anniversary today, since tomorrow I leave for Nationals. Ron and Wade have been sneaking around for a while now, and I want to know what they're up to, but Wade just blows me off and Ron just distracts me with his sweet words, kisses, topics of conversation. Even my pouting doesn't work. And this morning Wade had the nerve to hang up on me! I'm ready to explode.

I get out of class and run all the way home, bursting into the apartment just as Ron is heading out. "Oh hey KP, going to go pick up some stuff for our date. Be ready at seven?"

I check my watch. That's an hour and a half, I should be golden. "Yeah that's great. Hurry back."

"Love you, Kimmie." He kisses my forehead affectionately and then he kisses my lips. I smile. He only calls me that when he's up to something sweet... or sexy. Or both...

Head in the game, Kim. Gotta get ready.

"Love you, too."

I shower and shave in record time, and then set about straightening my hair. When that's done, I realize thankfully that I have plenty of time to find the perfect outfit. But when I flip on the light in the walk-in closet, I realize that it isn't necessary. There's a note pinned to a garment bag . Underneath it on the floor lays a shoe box.

I carefully unpin the note. _Hi Kimmie, Wade helped me out with your dress size... Don't ask how he knows that. I hope you like this. There's something on the dresser for you too. -Ron S._

I go to the dresser and sure enough there are two flat, square, navy blue velvet boxes. When I open the first one, it contains a heart shaped locket with each of our birthstones embedded in it: citrine for me, sapphire for him. Opening it, I see an engraving and a tiny picture of us at our graduation party. I recognize it even though only our faces fit in the tiny gold locket. It is my favorite picture of us. I put on the locket and a matching gold tennis bracelet and stud earrings that are in the other box, then pad back into the closet to see what Ron picked out. There are two hangers in the garment bag, and when I unzip it I have to laugh. Its a clown suit and pinned to it is a note that says, _Just kidding KP, I know you'd not be caught dead in one of these._ 'Ronshine' is back I guess. He's back to his happy self. I'm glad, cause the whole Hana thing is really freaking me out. Little Han is adorable, and Ron loves her more than anyone, which means that I do too. If something happened to her, Ron's suffering would destroy us both.

Shaking my head to dispel my dark thoughts, I pull the hideous clown suit out and reveal that gorgeous deep blue dress that Ron caught me staring at at Club Banana. It's the color of midnight and falls flawlessly to about the middle of my thigh. Remembering Ron's reaction to my LBD when we went through that moodulator sitch in high school, I chuckle to myself. Mental Note: Ron really likes it when I wear short skirts. I also found it to be ironic that my dad was threatening him with a one way ticket to some obscure corner of the universe not a minute before, and yet he was really amused when he had to physically remind Ron to close his mouth. Like I said, a conundrum.

The bodice of the dress really flatters my chest, and there's only one cap-sleeve to it, giving the dress a dramatic neckline and showing off a lot of skin. Another reason Ron picked the dress. I shake my head. _Such_ a guy. With his locket nestled in the hollow of my throat, and the fantastic four inch heels he got to go with the dress, I know I look hot. Then checking my make up, I open the door to our room to see if Ron is home yet. Turns out, he's home and he's cooking. He's wearing a black button up shirt and black slacks. There are candles everywhere, and their scent mixes with the scent of whatever he's cooking that has my mouth watering. He looks up, and almost cuts his finger when he sees me. He shakily sets down the knife and the vegetables he's cutting and then makes his way over to me.

"Wow..." he breathed. Then he gulped. "Um... dinner is almost ready, and I have sparkling cider, since I know you don't like to drink because you need to stay sober on missions and holy Toledo you are beautiful."

I feel heat rise in my cheeks. "Th-thanks, Ron. What are you... what are you cooking?"

He grins, and the normal Ron is back, much to my relief. "You'll see, KP. You'll see. Your favorites."

I chuckle and sit at the bar that is at the entrance to the kitchen, watching him move around. My blond cutie sets the vegetables to steam. Then he gets something mouthwateringly delicious out of the oven that definitely looks like chocolate something. He also checks on something in the fridge and finally he plates the food so artistically that it looks like a menu picture.

He motions me to the dining room table and serves the sparkling cider in pretty champagne flutes. The table looks beautiful, and I can feel myself tear up at the thought he put into this. He's come a long way from Valentine's dates at Bueno Nacho. Setting my plate of what looks like a normal steak (but was probably marinated in one of Ron's _special recipes._.. not as scary as it sounds, I promise.) vegetables, and mashed potatoes... he made the mashed potatoes how I like them. I can't believe he remembered...

"Kimmie, why're ya crying? The food can't be that awful."

I shake my head immediately. "No, no. It's... perfect, Ron. Thank you."

He reaches for my hand, squeezing it lightly and returning to his food. He's giving me time to collect myself. He knows me so well... I hate crying, especially in front of him.

When I'm finally calm, I watch him for a moment. No mouth stuffing? He's on his best behavior today.

The conversation flows freely after that, and it's like it's always been with us. Natural, friendship and love in its purest form. We laugh, we kiss, we enjoy the food, and when he clears away our plates and comes back with some chocolate cheesecake that might have _me_ face stuffing topped with some fresh made whip cream, he sits in the chair next to me instead of across from me. I wonder what's up when I see the seriousness in his face.

"What's wrong?"

He swallows hard, taking his time to look into my eyes. A silent conversation happens, the kind that happens when you can see the emotions in someone's eyes and understand what they want to tell you without a single word being spoken. His eyes are full of... eternity. Honey sweet, warm, peaceful eternity.

Oh my God.

"Kim, I... we've known each other forever. I can't imagine my life without you."

Oh my God oh my God oh my God...

"Don't look so freaked, KP," he chuckles as he opens a tiny blue velvet box and places it in front of me. "We belong together."

It's the final piece in the set. A gold ring, with a beautiful heart shaped fiery gem which I know is citrine again, with a tiny white diamond on either side.

He wants to marry me. He wants... me. Forever.

And I want him back.

Taking the box in my hands I lift the ring out of it, weighing it in my palm. Hmm...

Ron chuckles again. "No, you aren't imagining it. It is actually heavier than it looks. I ordered it online and had it sent to Wade for tweaking."

No way.

Seeing my expression, he gives me his trademark Ron grin. "I heard you lost the laser ring and lipstick when the Lorwardians destroyed your house. You got new lipstick but I figured a ring would be more subtle. And Wade has been dying to try out some new stuff on you, too. The bracelet is tweaked too. Audio and/or video recording."

He proposed with beautiful jewelry that also doubles as secret agent gadgets. And I like it. This is... life as not-teens-anymore heroes.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

I giggle. "Well are you going to put it on me or what?"

His smile is blinding as he takes it from me and slides it onto the third finger of my left hand. Next thing I know, I'm wrapped in his arms and his lips are everywhere; my cheeks, my neck, my eyes, my lips my hair... not to mention his spinning me around.

This is the best anniversary ever, I decide to myself.


	2. If I Fall

**the next chapter. has some filler parts... but not every day for a teem hero has to be off the chain xP **

**thanks to Sentinel for helping me with this chapter. i recently learned just how busy he is... do you guys remember the episode where Kim and Ron switched bodies, that Ron got cornered in the hallway with all the things Kim had to do? yeah i kinda feel like Sentinel is trapped in Kim's body. the guy must never run out of energy.**

**he's working on some stuff of his own too, check out 'The Hunted' Book One. i'm enjoying it so far, i think you guys will too.**

**please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their upright and locked positions and make sure the aisles are clear... Kim's going to need you guys to do that for her this chapter.**

* * *

_"Swept away by the wonder of it all; so amazed... Never saw it coming. Left me dazed, and i don't know where to turn... if i fall, will you catch me?" -Aqualung, If I Fall_

* * *

Hours later, I'm on a plane to Florida where the nationals will be held. The whole time I'm staring dreamily at my ring and fidgeting with my new locket. The girl next to me, Vicky, who is in my grade and a bit of a snob (like I need a repeat of Bonnie ugh) files her nails for the four hundredth time. At least she isn't as bad as Bonnie, exactly...

"So where were you last night? You were invited to that party."

"Last night I was home."

"Home? Why?"

"I was celebrating my three years with my fiancée." Damn it feels so good to say that.

"Oh."

Jeannie, who is less self-absorbed and more observant, didn't miss what I said. "Wait... fiancée? As in, you're getting married?" her voice rises in pitch and volume and I cover my ears. "EEEEEEEKKKK! KIM'S GETTING MARRIED!"

My teammates congratulate me, giving Jeannie the stink-eye for being so loud. She doesn't notice. Instead, she begs Vicky to trade seats, and she finally gives in just to get Jeannie to be quiet.

"Tell me everything, how did he propose? Did he buy you flowers? Take you to dinner and propose over dessert...?"

"Whoa, slow down," I laugh at her. "He cooked me dinner. He's a Culinary Arts major, you know, he's studying to be a chef. It was so romantic..." I sigh dreamily, thinking about last night. I have to force myself back into reality. "He did propose over dessert, though. It was really sweet, he put a lot of thought into it."

"I always thought he was so sweet. People who don't know him think he's weird... and people who do think he's a goof. But nobody ever sees him around you like we do. He's totally different. So is it true you guys have known each other since forever?"

"Yeah," I chuckle. "It was winter in preschool. I saved him from bullies, he saved me from yellow snow, and we've been inseparable ever since."

"Gosh, that's so sweet."

I smile at her and indulge her with her questions a little longer before she dozes off. I stare at my ring again.

The plane drops, causing an uneasy sensation in my stomach. The pilot apologizes and babbles about turbulence and finding a new cruising altitude. I let my hand rest on my pretty new locket and stare out the window until I fall asleep.

I wake up to announcements that we're landing and... oh, this isn't a normal landing. Crap. The plane rocks, and everyone screams. My stomach lurches and I try my hardest to control the overwhelming panic I can feel trying to choke me. I need to... get out of here. We all need to get out of here. Think! I look out the window, trying to see how close to the ground we are. Good thing I have the emergency exit. Not a good thing that the wing is smoked out and probably on fire, so we can't use it. The smoke blurs my view of the plane's surroundings. I have to do something. I have to save these people... I have to go home to Ron.

* * *

We're all away from the burning aircraft. Thankfully no one has more than cuts, bruises, or the occasional broken bone. In between helping with all the first aid, I ask Wade to send help to my coordinates. Once he's fully aware (and horrified) at the situation, he promises that the rescuers will be there soon. I collapse against a tree and close my eyes. So much for nationals.

When I open my eyes again, I'm in a white sterile room and there's an IV in my arm. Ron is sleeping in the chair in the corner. I press the nurse assistance button, and when she comes bumbling in, I shush her with a glare and a wave in Ron's direction. "How long have I been here?" I hiss at her.

"Oh only about six hours."

She writes her name on the small white board along with the date... it's been more than six hours. It's the next day.

"What happened?"

"You wandered off for some rest after helping your teammates, and you seem to have passed out. It took several hours to find you."

"Where is my team?"

"Safe, dear. Some of them are still here for observation, like you, or treatments. Most of them have returned home."

Good. They are safe.

"How long has he been here?"

"Oh as soon as he heard about the accident, he hurried right over. Your family is here too, they went down for a bite to eat."

I reach for my locket, but its gone. I hope it isn't lost.

"Your personal effects have been given to your family for safe-keeping."

I nod. My head hurts, and I'm thirsty.

Ron stirs, and the nurse checks all the vitals before leaving, promising to return with some iced water.

"Ron? Are you awake?"

His eyes snap open. "Kim! You're okay..."

"Aren't I always?"

"KP be serious, your plane fell out of the sky."

"Add 'surviving a plane crash' to the ever growing list of things that Kim Possible can do."

Ron snorts, but his hands squeeze mine tightly. He swallows hard, and swallows again. "I'm... I'm really glad you're okay." His voice is shaky and raw, full of relief and love. "I... I need you, KP. Don't... scare me like that, okay?" His eyes are filling with tears.

"Oh Ron, come here, let me hug you."

"Um... not a good idea. You have bruises everywhere... you'll be in pain for quite a bit, I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm fine," I say, reaching for him. The action causes me to take it back with a whimper. "Oww..."

A tear falls on his hand.

"Don't cry... I'm okay. I'm here, Ron. I'm here."

He smiles. "I know."

* * *

Another day goes by before Ron's allowed to take me home. I've been given a clean but achy bill of health, and I'm forced to go on bed-rest for the next week. Which means that Ron is hovering like a mother hen with only one chick. My mom stays with us as well, sleeping on the futon in the other room, which we mostly use as an office, for school work and for missions.

Even mom thinks Ron is way frazzled, but he won't hear it. He also won't let me out of bed for anything except the bathroom.

Ugh. This plane crash business sucks.

The Kimmunicator beeps, and Ron snatches it out of my hand, earning a glare. "Wade?"

"Oh, hey Ron. How's Kim?"

"She's alright. She's resting."

"I've rested so much I probably sleepwalk. Give it to me, Ron."

"Not a chance, KP. No sitches for you until Mrs. Doctor P gives you the go."

Wade sensed an argument coming, and quickly diffused it. "Its cool, Ron, I just wanted to know how Kim's doing. Nothing serious has come up, although Shego has asked to be put through to you a couple times."

"Shego...?"

"She seemed pretty freaked about the accident."

"Why didn't you let me talk to her?"

"You were asleep both times, Kim. Ron answered and eased her mind. Do you think you're the only real friend she has?"

I ponder that. She has Dr. D... but other than that I doubt anyone can stand her. I might just be the only person bitch-proof enough to befriend Shego. Wow.

Ron chuckles. "I think Kim's light bulb just went on."

"Put me through to her, Wade."

"I'm not sure where she is right now. I'll try her cell."

"Okay."

The try is unsuccessful, and I convince Ron that I won't disintegrate if he lays with me for a while. We talk and hold hands and kiss for a while until the doorbell rings.

"Let mom answer it," I tell Ron. He shrugs and I lay my head back on his chest.

The voice I hear surprises me. " Hey, momma Possible, where's Kimmie?"

"Um... I think she's resting and- hey, where are you going?"

"To see her, obviously. Why?"

"Ron... to avoid Shego beating up my mom, please go get her," I gulp.

Ron, who seems just as bewildered, nods. He goes to the door of the bed room and sees Shego's hands glowing. "Uh... heh... no need for that, Shego. Come in here."

"Jeez, Princess, what the fresh hell happened? They said you were in some sort of accident, and Dr- Doc was flipping his shit."

"So you weren't?" I raise an eyebrow at her. "Were you just about to call him Drew?" I try not to laugh.

She mumbles incoherently and shifts her weight. "So what did happen?"

"Um... classic horror movie opening...? Plane full of cheerleaders, crash-landing... lost in the woods?"

Ron rolls his eyes but stays quiet. I motion him to come lay with me and he does. Shego pulls up a chair and we talk until mom announces that dinner is ready. I realize that Wade is probably right. I'm the best and probably only friend of my arch-foe.

Oh, life as a not-a-teen hero.

* * *

Half way through the week, most of my teammates have been through here, asking after my well-being, and its sweet to know that they care about me that much. Blaine shows up and Ron fumes for an hour when he accuses him of buying the jewelry in a vending machine or something like that. Distracting him from his irritation that night is fun.

At the end of the week, we drive mom to the airport and she hugs me carefully, telling me to stay out of trouble until the doctors in all my follow up appointments 'clear me for active duty' or however she said it. She's got some serious street cred in the doctor world, I guess, because when she sets up all my appointments she has to fight the poor suckers off with autographs and stuff. At least all these appointments won't be coming out of my savings account.

Ron has some project for one of his business classes and he spends Sunday in the office doing research and snacking on tortilla chips while I try to lay around without supervision. I'm getting restless, and now that he's busy with something other that me, I'm bored and ready to kick some serious ass.

I decide to do a little self-assessment and clear an area in the living room for some basic stretches. I'm still sore, but at least I can move around now. It will be a while before I'm back to normal, though. This sucks.

"Ron, I'm going for a walk," I yell, seriously fed up with the fire under my ass.

"Okay, hey wait... where are you going?" I hear him jump out of his seat and race to the living room.

"Out. I'm going to walk a bit, I feel a bit wound up."

"Are you okay? Should I go with you? KP you're supposed to be on bed-"

"Ron, if I _rest_ anymore I'm not going to sleep for a month, and you know how pissy I get when I have to combine too little sleep and too much coffee."

He raises his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay. As long as you're sure you'll be okay."

"I've been okay since Tuesday. I'll be back soon and I promise I'll come home if I get tired."

He sighs. "Catch you later then. If you need me-"

"I'll be okay." I kiss his cheek and head out.

The warm air feels good and I enjoy the sunshine. I'm not wearing sleeves, despite the awful bruising on my right arm where the emergency door was stuck and I had to ram it open. I try not to think about how much I look like I got in a fight with, well, a burning aircraft, and lost...

"Hey, wait up!"

I turn, not recognizing the voice that's calling me.

A girl about fourteen years old is hurrying to catch up with me, waving her arm frantically. When she finally huffs to a stop in front of me, her black shiny hair looks very windblown and her hazel eyes, watery from the wind in her face, are full of excitement. "Oh my gosh, it really is you!"

"Me...?"

"Kim Possible. My dad told me about you."

"Oh... how do I know your dad?"

"You saved our town from an avalanche several years ago. My dad always talks about you."

"Avalanche... in the alps! I remember."

"My name is Sonata Dietrich, my uncle is the man who you call to cart you around up there. You can call me Sonny, most people around here do."

"How'd you end up here?"

"My sister's graduation is this weekend, but she and I got sent here shortly before the avalanche, to live with my aunt and go to school. So I've been in this area a while."

Her name is really unusual for someone with her background. I understand why when a woman with a heavy Italian accent calls out, looking for her. She rolls her eyes. "Auntie Gia," she explains. Another voice calls out for her.

"You'd better go."

She looks down, and I decide to walk her over to where her family is waiting for her. When we get there she introduces me to everyone, and I get to congratulate her sister Fiorella on her graduation. Their dad thanks me profusely for that avalanche thing _again,_ and I assure him that it was no big. They want to hug me, but I avoid doing that... I don't want any setbacks this week, I need to take the final exams I couldn't take because of my injuries. They ask about my arm and I give them the reader's digest version. They fawn over me and then they excuse themselves, telling me that they need to get going and that if I need anything I should feel free to let Sonny know. We exchange phone numbers and they leave. I have the distinct feeling that they feel like I'm some kind of celebrity.

Feeling tired, I decide to take a short-cut home. Crossing the street, I walk a block before ducking into an alley that connects to the alley behind my building. I walk silently until I hear a sound. Sounds like a scuffle. I move closer, suddenly alert. I can hear what the voices are hissing now, and I listen in.

"We know it's you. Tell us now and we wont have to hurt your little boyfriend."

"I don't even have a boyfriend! Let me go!" another voice answers, starting with a whimper and ending with a scream.

"Tell us, bitch."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Go away!"

"Quit playing stupid."

"Oww!" it sounds like they are struggling again, and I decide to intervene. I climb the fire escape over them as quietly as I can, and drop in on two guys just as one of them is about to force a skinny redhead girl into an old car. Quickly knocking him out, I turn to engage the second target as he grabs my bad arm. Hissing in pain, I kick him where I know it will hurt and he drops to his knees, howling in pain. A swift knee to the jaw has him motionless on the ground, and the girl stares at me, terrified.

"What happened?"

"I don't know! I was walking home and these two guys yanked me off the sidewalk and started asking me all these questions about some guy named Ronson... and they tried to make me get in their car!"

"Ronson?" Who on earth is Ronson?

"I don't know any Ronson! I don't know what they are talking about, can I please leave?"

"Are you hurt?"

She rubs her wrist. "Just a bruise."

"Okay. Here's my number, let me know if you need anything." I pull out a receipt from my pocket and scribble my name and number on the back.

"Thanks... Kim."

"You're welcome..."

"Kitt."

I nod and wave as she leaves, and I study the unconscious guys on the ground. One of them seems to be Asian, well-built but skinny, like Ron.

Oh my God. Ron went to exchange school in Japan. His friends from there call him "Stoppable-san" or "Ron-san" to this day. They're referring to "Ron-san" not Ronson.

I don't understand... Ron saved the school in Japan from Monkey Fist. Why would they come after him?

I contact Wade and have the guys picked up before running upstairs.

"KP, baby," he smiles. "You're back. How was your walk?" Ron's sitting watching that _Revenge of the Squirrel Ninjas_ movie again.

"Informative. I need to ask you some stuff, okay?"

"What happened?" Ron turns off the TV, a wary look on his face.

"I met a girl. Pretty, about my height. Red hair, grayish eyes that look green when the light hits them right. Her name is Kitt. She lives on the other side of our building, apparently."

"And?"

"She was being mugged by two guys in the alley."

Ron's hands are all over me before I'm even finished talking. "You didn't fight them did you? Kim what the hell! You aren't supposed to be doing any of that stuff yet! Are you okay?"

"Surprise attack, Ron. I'm fine, the whole thing was over in thirty seconds. They were holding her down, demanding information about someone named Ronson."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I think Kitt meant 'Ron-san' not-"

"KP no one is supposed to know about that stuff."

"Well whoever was mugging her in the alley obviously knows. I think they thought she was me."

Ron scrubs his neck.

I wait.

His face clears for a moment, then he's confused again. "Why would someone from Yamanouchi be mugging people asking about me?"

"Do you still have Yori's email? Maybe she knows."

"No, she moved a while back, when I was in Lowerton. I haven't talked to her since. I sent a couple emails but they got bounced back."

"Did she say why she moved or where she was going?"

"She gave some lame excuse about finding her destiny or something. I didn't push it, because it was obvious she didn't want to talk about it."

I grab my Kimmunicator. "Hey Wade, see if you can find Yori. We need to ask her some questions."

"Sure, I'll get back to you soon as possible."

"Thanks."

"Hey, wait a sec. Do you have all the surveillance we talked about up?" Ron takes the Kimmunicator before I can disconnect.

"Yeah I do."

"Some shady people were asking about me, I just want to make sure everything back home is normal."

"Everything seems fine. Your parents seem to have some trouble keeping up with your sister," he chuckles.

"Thanks, computer dude."

Wade smirks and sips his drink. "No problem, Captain Underpants."

Ron scowls at him and disconnects.


	3. Holiday In The Sun

**well today is my birthday so as a present to me i'm posting a chappie! hope y'all enjoy.**

**as usual, thanks to my very busy superbeta, Sentinel... and to all the people that have reviewed, you make posting this story special.**

**and i'm officially old enough to drink, so cheers!**

* * *

_"When you're on a holiday, you can't find the words to say all the things that come to you... And I wanna feel it too..._  
_On an island in the sun we'll be playin' an' havin' fun, And it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain."_

-Weezer, Island in the Sun

* * *

The next day I realize how much dropping those two losers cost me. I'm stiff and miserable and now my arm is about a hundred times more painful.

Happy Monday to me.

Ron's already gone and I groan when I realize that I have only twenty minutes to get to my first test.

A short, hot shower helps me feel slightly better and I put on my shorts and a green tank top with a cool KP logo that Wade got me for Christmas, and run to school, dropping into my seat as the proctor calls the classroom to order and hands out the tests.

After a hundred and fifty multiple choice questions about personality disorders, stress disorders, mood disorders, sexual misconduct, and Lord knows what else, I sigh with relief and head to the Lounge for lunch with Ron. When he sees me, he stands and hugs me. His eyes are questioning when his fingers skim my arm.

"I'm okay," I assure him, even though I want to go back to bed. We sit together in a cozy, comfy little booth in the corner, eating and relaxing. I can tell he's checking on me though, and I know I'm caught.

He walks me home and gives me his own 'the look' before heading off to work. I groan and flip on the TV, then turn it off again. It's been two minutes and I'm already bored.

I wish Ron's ability to relax would rub off on me.

I call my mom, but she's in surgery and I know I'm probably on speaker, so I refrain from complaining about my personal life and ask her to call me when she's home. She asks how I'm feeling and I tell her I've rested so much I probably sleepwalk. She just tells me to have patience, because it will be a while before I feel normal again.

Gee, thanks, Mom.

I set the coffee maker and move into the office with the intention of writing emails out to Monique... and one to Shego. The whole 'befriending the semi-villain' thing still... tickles my noggin... but I digress.

I delete a bunch of junk mail and read through several others. Felix Renton, the tricked-out wheelchair guy sent an email with concern over the accident. I tell him that we're all okay and ask after him and his family. He says his mom tweaked his wheelchair again and worked it out so that he can technically drive. Way cool.

The next email is from... Bonnie Rockwaller? This I have to see. _K, I heard you managed to bring down an entire jet with your stupid cheerleaders. I don't know how you managed to do that but seriously be glad no one got themselves killed._

Ha! I laugh out loud and respond:_ Thank you, Bonnie, for your words of encouragement. It's nice to know you care about the well-being of my squad._

I have another email from someone I don't recognize. It passes the virus scan, and I wonder who it is as I open it. All it says is _watch out._ Watch out for what? Who is this person anyway?

I open a chat line to Wade. "Hey."

"Hey, what's up, Kim? How are you feeling?"

"Not important. I need to know who an email came from."

"Okay, give me a minute to get in your account." I can see him typing furiously, then he frowns. "That's weird." he types some more, and after a few minutes, his frown deepens. "They used a proxy, but I traced through it to an internet cafe. Dead end Kim, sorry."

"Thanks anyway, Wade."

"Hey, will you ask Ron if he knows about any new neighbors his parents might have? There's a car parked in the driveway across the street from the house, but when I checked out the address, no one was listed as living there. It's been two days. There's no for sale sign on the house either."

First they jump a girl exactly like me for information about Ron, now they're staking out his house?

"Keep me posted on what you see, and I'll have Ron get back to you."

"Thanks."

"No Problem."

I blow my hair out of my face and sip my coffee. I have a bad feeling about this...

* * *

We're finally out of school, and Ron sags with relief when he sees his grade report: As in all his classes except one which is one point away from an A, Cumulative GPA resting comfortably at 3.892. He's worked really hard, harder than most people have to work to maintain their grades that way. I'm proud of him, and I let him know that.

Mine looks like it has every year since the fifth grade. Straight As and 4.0 GPA. Brilliant. I'm ready for summer back home in Middleton.

Ron's been racking up as much time off work as humanly possible so that he can come home with me this summer, and he's excited when we get the last of our things into the trunk of the car and head for the highway. Wade beeps in to ask Ron some questions. Things around his house have been getting intense. The mysterious car is constantly on his block, at his mom's work, at his dad's functions... We're going to have to have a serious talk about safety with them when we get there. We still don't know who is behind the creepy emails (there have been two since the first one, and Ron got one too) and all they say is to be careful and watch our backs... as if we already aren't on red alert. The girl Kitt moved out of our building after she thought she was being followed again. As far as I know, she's safe. It still makes me wonder who would be looking for me for the down low on Ron.

When we pull up to my house at the same time as my dad, and he forgets to park the car in his rush to see me. It rolls a bit but Ron manages to jump in before anything major happens. Dad grins sheepishly and hugs me. "Welcome home, Kimmie-cub."

"Thanks Dad," I whisper into his chest.

The Tweebs make their grand entrance attached to some kind of home-made rocket, and as usual, there's a crash. We all cringe and they wave briefly and dash off before they can be reprimanded. I shake my head. Some things never change.

Ron volunteers to cook since Mom is working late, and after a delicious meal Ron says he wants to go home. I get my stuff out of the car and drive him the ten minutes to his house.

We pull up and the door of the house opens. There's flash of pink and black and then Ron's spinning his giggling little sister around and around. He stops spinning and holds her close. She settles on his hip and wraps her little arms around his neck. "I lub yew Wonnie," she says into his neck.

His smile is blinding. "I love you too, Hana Banana. Look who's here to visit."

I brace myself, knowing she'll tackle me next. She does, and I hit the ground hard. But she's giggling, so I tickle her and play on the lawn with her a while before its time for her to go to bed.

Ron's parents are waiting for us on the porch by the front door, and I carry Han in, listening as she tells me all about her new daycare friends, the new doll that Ron gave her, and other things that little girls talk about. Times like this, it's so easy to believe that she's just a normal three-year-old, and not a super ninja baby.

I offer to take care of Han while Ron and his parents reconnect after the ten months away from home, and Ron smiles softly at me in thanks. His kisses his sister's forehead and whispers to her to be good, and that he'll be up to tuck her in soon. His parents fawn over how good he is with her, and then I take her upstairs for her bath.

She splashes, plays with bubbles, sprays me with her rubber duckie, and giggles when I wash her in the places that tickle, and then I wrap her up in a fluffy, soft towel and get take her to her room. Ron is there, watching quietly while I dress her in cute little pink pajamas and tuck her gently under her covers. He sits on the other side of her. "What do you want to read today, Sis?"

Han squeals and demands that he read her a poem called the Peppery Man. He's not even half way through when she's asleep. He kisses her cheeks and brushes her hair out of her face with his fingertips before switching on a tiny nightlight in the corner. I feel myself tear up. He's so sweet with her.

Once we're out of her room, he absently reaches for my hand, pulling me toward his room. He's quiet, and I know he's thinking about her. For someone who was so against her coming into his home, he's gotten extremely attached to her. I sincerely hope that all this drama with people watching his house and stuff goes away before any of them get hurt.

When we reach his room, he plops down on his bed. I curl up next to him, listening to the soft thumping of his heart under my cheek. We stay silent for a long time, my head on his chest, his arm around me and his hand in my hair.

He finally speaks. "Tomorrow we'll hit the lake?"

"You bet! I bought this awesome new swimsuit at Club Banana..."

He grins. "Mmm, you look delicious in bikinis."

"Delicious, eh?"

"Uh-huh."

"Only you, Ron."

"It's why you love me."

Smug bastard. He has a point though.

"Do I get to know what color it is or..."

I smirk at him. "No dice."

"Aww man..."

* * *

The lake is fun. Dad and Mr. Stoppable are manning the grill, the moms are soaking up some sun and reading, and Ron, Hana and I are playing in the water. We teach her swimming basics, and we let her splash around in the shallow for a while. We build and destroy a hundred sand castles, we swim around with little Han on our backs, and finally after lunch, Han tanks. We set her up under the shade of a tree next to my mom and we head back for the water. We duck under the floats and swim out to a rock in the middle of the lake, ignoring the whistles and dirty looks from the lifeguards. We sit there most of the day, enjoying the sun and each other. Ron's starting to look like a cooked lobster though, so we head back and I apply cooling gel and sunscreen to his back, much to his relief. We watch the sun set in each-other's arms. It's restful and romantic.

At night I slip a white tank and some shorts over my swimsuit, and we all head to a restaurant for dinner. Ron holds my hand and his mom who never got to see my engagement ring, snatches it away from him to study it. She and my mom fawn over it and how romantic and everything else, and I take my hand back and place it in his again. He kisses it and smiles at me, and the moms sigh. Little Han is tired of her booster seat so Ron has her in his lap for a while, even though he never lets go of my hand.

We enjoy the food over laughs and cheerful conversation, and Han falls asleep on Ron. Mom excuses herself to the bathroom and the dads discuss splitting the bill. Ron wants to pay for me and Han, and dad gets all awkward again. I decide to stay neutral on this one. How is it that that stupid _Twilight_ girl put it? Ahh, yes. Switzerland. Switzerland, which really means escaping-to-the-bathroom-to-avoid-the-awkward-moment-land.

When I get there Mom is washing her hands and wondering why I look so frazzled.

When we return the bill is all paid for, however they divided it seeming not to be an issue anymore, and Ron carries his little sleeping beauty out to her car seat. He really is the best big brother ever, I muse to myself as he gently buckles her in, pushing a stray hair from her forehead and brushing her cute little cheek with his finger. I barely hear him say "I love you" before he pulls me away from the parental units.

"Where are we going?"

"We're off to see a movie. My parents are taking Han home, and your parents need to see if dweeb squared didn't burn the house down. I'm not tired yet."

I laugh. "I'll be happy if the garage is still standing. I'll make the tweebs sleep outside."

We get to the cinema and Ron immediately wants to see some action movie. This one actually looks like it could end up being... not cheesy. Something about alien robots taking over the world and some guy named Sam teaming up with some of his robot friends to kick some major evil alien ass. Been there done that. Got the t-shirt, the coffee mug, and the rockin' boyfriend to prove it.

Ron checks out the British hottie in the movie, and I give him my 'the look'. He scrubs his neck for a moment and then puts his arm around mine. His other hand reaches for mine, absently toying with my ring. He says something in my ear about the girl not being as awesome as me, and I just raise my eyebrow.

"Well it's true! Look she gets kidnapped by the robot car, and she spends the entire time locked up with that crazy psycho villain dude. You would have kicked his ass and base jumped off the building, and then proceeded to blow up some evil robots. Starting with the creepy vulture-looking one."

He has a point. The whole 'damsel in distress' thing is soooo not my drama.

"Besides," he smirks, "you know that you wish you could base-jump off Trump Tower."

I shrug noncommittally, but I know he knows I think it would be cool. He gets all smug when he knows he's off the hook, and I glare at him. He kisses my cheek and then has the nerve to shush me and tell me to watch the movie.

Typical date with Ron.


	4. Lost

**well welcome back! here's your first Ron POV... it's a whole chapter today but the POVs might get a bit shorter from here on out. anyway, enjoy the chapter, and check out my short story 'Cold'. if enough people ask, i might do an alternate ending and sequel so read up and tell me what you think!**

**as always thanks to my beta Sentinel for editing this chapter. check out his story, 'The Hunted', it will rock your sox!**

**cheers!**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_I just got lost_

_Every river that I tried to cross_

_Every door I ever tried was locked_

_Oh and I'm just waiting 'til the shine wears off..._

_-Lost, Coldplay_

* * *

**RPOV**

No sooner have I pulled up to my house than my favorite little person in the whole universe comes bounding down the porch steps, launching herself into my arms. Hana Kaori Stoppable is my amazing little sister. She's got long, straight, jet black hair and dark eyes that dance when she laughs, which is a lot.

I hold her close and breathe in. She smells like Jolly Ranchers, her skin is warm and soft, and her tiny little arms wrap around me. I'm home.

"I lub yew Wonnie," she tells me, and hug her tighter.

"I love you too, Hana Banana." she gives a tiny giggle at her nickname, and I point in Kim's direction. "Look who's here to visit."

"Kimmie!" she shrieks, and I set her down so that she can charge my fiancee- yes, I have one of those- and Han sacks her like a pro. I have to laugh. KP gives me her trademark stink-eye before tickling Hana and playing with her on the grass.

I watch them play and smile. This summer will be the best yet.

* * *

When Kim hops in the car wearing pale jean short shorts over a stunning emerald bikini, I gawk at her. I'm gunna die today, I just know it. Maybe I already did, I'm not sure. Do angels wear bikinis? Hmm.

There goes KP's dad being all awkward and stuff. I don't really blame the guy. Who wants to think about their favorite girl being gawked at or devirginized or anything else? Is 'devirginized' even a word? Anyway, I try to be understanding, only because I know the second Han hits puberty I'm going to have to kick some serious teenage boy ass. That doesn't mean I like being on the receiving end of the awkward.

Life goes on.

The day goes fantastically, I get to see Kim in all her wet bikini glory and she looks fan-frickin-tastic. Her bruises are majorly cleared, and although she's still sore from time to time, she's mostly back to normal. She swims with me to the rock-island in the middle of the lake, and I bake until I look like Diablo Sauce Incarnate. She massages some of that cooling gel into my back, then rubs in some sunscreen. Her hands always feel amazing on me.

Han plays and splashes around until she's dead tired, and sleeps the rest of the afternoon in the shade. She falls asleep in my arms again when we go for dinner.

KP looks a little choked up when I finally let my parents drive off, but I know better than to call her out on it. Instead I invite her to a movie.

We actually agree on an action movie, but she catches me drooling over Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the British chick that plays the hero's girlfriend. She's way hot, but my KP is much hotter, and I let her know that... after she shoots me a look. The rest of the movie goes well. I push her buttons a little, but only because she's sort of sexy when she's mad.

After the movie I take KP home and she makes me promise to let her know when I'm home. I'm headed home, moseying along in the dark. I feel like I heard something behind me but when I turn nothing is there. Weird. I pick up a jog, still freaked.

There are those footsteps again. I stop and turn.

"Who are you, what do you want?" I say into the shadows. No one answers, and I back into a building so that no one can surprise me from behind. I call out again, and there's no answer. A shadow moves, and I focus on it. "Tell me who you are." There is no room for argument in my tone.

I glare into the darkness. At least threaten me to my face instead of hiding in the dark.

Just as quickly as the shadow appeared, it disappeared. I sprint all the way home, triple checking the locks and the windows before finally drifting into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

The next day KP has my hide for not calling her when I got home. I explain what happened, and she fills Wade in. Her emerald eyes are shadowed with concern, and she's quiet most of the day. I wanted to take her out, but she doesn't seem to be in the mood. We lay around all day, playing with Han and watching Disney movies. I make grilled cheese for lunch since I actually don't feel like cooking.

I hear Kim cracking up and I wonder what's happening. She's literally rolling on the floor. "I... I would have thought... you... incinerated... that... tape!" I see the TV screen and see that STUPID video of my first time using the bathroom.

Great.

I take the tape out of the VCR player and I throw it on the floor and step on it. "How's that?"

She stops laughing. "You aren't... mad... are you?"

"KP all of tri-city has seen and laughed at my potty training experiences, okay? I'm not mad. I just hate this stupid tape. Wait, where did you get this anyway?"

"Awww I'm sorry," she cooes, stifling a giggle. "It was in the player."

"What the fresh hell- mom," I groan to myself, answering my own question. "Ugh, who else has seen this?"

"Little Han."

"Ugh why would mom scar Hana with this? What ever happened to 'Party on the Potty' by the Flippies?"

"You're _still _on about the Flippies?" She shakes her head and I pull her into my lap... _after_ making sure the remains of that cursed video are in the trash.

"KP, I love you, Beautiful Girl, but if ya keep harshin' the Flippies Imma have to call all of this quits."

She gives me a mock glare.

I smirk at her and kiss her cheek... and maybe I _accidentally _poke her side. Of course she jumps about a foot in the air, and a sparring match ensues. That ends with her straddling me over the coffee table. Hmm...

"Ron, we're home! How was Hana?"

Kim scrambles off my lap and makes it to the couch in record speed, her face flaming with embarrassment.

"Oh... Hey mom and dad." I try to act like there we weren't just destroying and maybe defiling the living room two seconds before they walked in. I was never good at this stuff...

"Oh... Han is down for a nap. We were just going to watch a movie... and... well..."

"KP chill," I have to laugh. "We're going on 21, not sixteen."

She hides her face in my chest. "Still, Ron... it's your parents. Your PARENTS! What if they think I'm corrupting you or something?"

I smirk. "You? Little Miss Goody Two-shoe teen hero? Corrupt _me_?" I raise an eyebrow at her, then shrug. "Carry on."

Her jaw drops for a second and then she grabs my arm and yanks me toward the door.

* * *

Wow. Who knew KP had an exhibitio-

"Houston paging Ron! Are you hungry?"

I snap out of it and look around. Bueno Nacho is coming up on our right and I can almost taste the cheesy goodness. "Aren't I always? Let's chow."

She rolls her pretty green eyes at me and can't resist wrapping her in a tight hug and kissing the life out of her. Now who's all googly-eyed and distractable? Score: Ron one, KP none. Boo and Yah.

I get my usual and KP gets one of those fancy taco salads, and we sit down at our booth to eat, talking and laughing and stealing bites from each other's plates.

"As I live and breathe! Girl you lookin fine for a bitch that survived a plane crash," a familiar voice told us ,more specifically Kim, from behind.

KP jumps up and briefly wraps Monique in a bone-crushing hug. She pulls back to glare at her, probably for the bitch comment, and then hugs her again. I have to laugh.

I clear some of our trays and stuff out of the way so the girls can sit together. "How's it hangin, Monique?"

"Ron," she raises an eyebrow at me in greeting. Typical. I raise an eyebrow back and raise a Nacho as a toast before popping it in my mouth. She rolls her eyes, unwrapping an order of hard shell tacos and digging in.

"Monique, how have you been? It's been _forever_."

"Yeah I know. Well you know me. Managing Club Banana, school at Middleton U. Life's good! Life's aaaaaaawwwwlllll good."

"Meet any hotties?" KP raises an eyebrow.

I tune out their girl talk, not particularly interested in what they have to say about hotties, clothes, or make-up. Although I do pick up that Monique is dating this new dude at Middleton U. Good for her, I hope she's happy, and I hope he can put up with her.

Good luck, New Dude. Monique is a handful.

When I tune them back in after downing my naco, KP is on about an email she got a while back from Bonnie. Wait... Bonnie? Ha... I have to hear this.

"I was like really? Is that supposed to be you caring?" Kim was saying.

"For real, who writes that? That stupid hoe could never leave you alone, but she seriously crossed a line. That accident could have been a lot worse."

"Yeah tell me about it." Kim absently rubs her arm. I watch her to see if she's in pain. She shouldn't be, but a guy can't be too sure.

She gives me a reassuring smile and I swipe her drink. Ugh, unsweet iced tea. Gross. Rufus finishes his nachos while I grab myself a soda and a couple of chocolate tacos, knowing that KP will want some. When I start back to our booth I notice KP looks extremely pissed off. She storms outside muttering about hell and ass-kickings, and I follow her. She approaches her car and suddenly there's yelling and she's fighting some guy. I have to physically pull her off him. "Woah, KP what happened!"

"That asshole was keying my car! And when I yelled at him he tried to hit me!" She moves to hit him again, and I subtly tighten my restraining grip, pressing a kiss into her hair to soothe her. I guess it works... she's not trying to put him in a coma anymore...

The 'asshole' moans in protest, trying to scrape himself off the ground. If I'd let her, KP kicked him into next month... and by that I mean the next month in the hospital.

Sure enough, I study the purple Sloth, and I see the paint peeled into neat little coils in a straight line. Oh no he didn't.

The cops come, and KP fumes her story to them. Apparently he was just some wanna-be gangster douche that was looking to ruin someone's day. That _someone _happened to be Kim, and she ruined his day (and maybe his face) instead. Turn about is fair play, I guess. He moans about defending himself, but Kim is adamant that he assaulted her when she yelled about him messing with her car. The cops, who know KP well, snicker about the guy getting beat up by a girl and ignore him. They give KP a proverbial slap on the wrist, telling her to simmer down.

She seems alright besides being royally pissed off, and I know she won't simmer down for a long time. They see the damage she did to the guy, and they want to bring her down to the precinct but witness say that he started the fight... she just ended it, Kung-Fu style.

The cops good-naturedly grumble about 'cleaning up Possible's mess _again' _and warn her once again to amp down.

She's a redhead. That won't happen.

She's growling and grumbling most of the way back to her place, and I try to be patient with her. I know she loves her spy-car to death, and she hates it when it gets banged up. The tweebs are waiting for her and have generously cleared their schedule to re-do her paint job... something about giving the car nano-skin. I have no clue what that is but hopefully that makes it key proof. She's sad that it won't be purple anymore. It will be shiny black. I try to distract her with promises of dinner out with Han. She agrees, but she's still pissed.

To take her mind off the whole sitch, we take Han to Pizza Party-torium. She plays in the sky tubes and the ball pit and KP and I duke it out on Dance Dance Revolution. I kick her butt and she demands a rematch. She wins the second round, and we call it even so we can teach Han some ski-ball. Subs and burnt pizza that remind me of my childhood are brought out, and I dig in while KP just watches with a raised eyebrow. "For someone who is learning the art of delicious gourmet meals, you're curiously attached to that awful burnt pizza."

"KP there are some things you never grow out of," I smile back.

She rolls her eyes.

We play more games and Han sits with me when We play the race car video games of the arcade section. KP is pissed when she loses, and I peck her cheek. She sticks her tongue out at me. When we're ready to go home, we hit the ticket counter. Sixty-six thousand, four hundred thirty-two tickets. Boo-yah! I can get Han a stuffed panda bear, for ten thousand, and I can nab that new Pandaroo, since KP's got lost in the alien invasion, for thirty-six thousand. And I've got twenty dimes to spend on anything I want! Let's see... candy, spark rocks... hilarious pranks... what to get, what to get. Should I get Han another toy? There's a sweet-looking doll over there that she had her eye on since she got here. I take it and some sour spark-rocks, and I've got four hundred tickets left. I give them to Kim who has a hefty sum of sixty-three thousand, seven hundred eighteen tickets. Make that sixty-four thousand, one hundred eighteen. I present her with her Pandaroo too, and she blushes and kisses me, then goes to cash in her tickets. I pop some spark-rocks in my mouth and the staticky tickle feels really good. I turn to give Han her toys and she's... gone?

"Han!" I yell over the noise, looking around in confusion. I scramble out of the ticket counting area, panic closing up my throat. "Hana! Where are you?" I stare around wildly. This can't be happening...

"Ron? Ready to go?"

When I look at her the smile falls off her face. "What's wrong?" she looks around, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Then she frowns. "Where's Hana?"

The terror is choking me. I need to find my sister. Now.

Kim scans the sky-tubes, and goes to the ball pit. We go to the stage where JP Bearymore and his furry band are playing, and she's not there either. We check all the games, and then we split up and check them again. We climb through the sky-tubes, checking every slide, every little ladder... everything.

Oh God, my sister's missing. What if some sick pedo or something took her...?

No no no please no. Nobody took her, they can't have. She's just lost. If she's not in here maybe she thought we went outside. I try to keep myself from crying as I burst out of the building, and I spy her sitting on the edge of the sidewalk next to a security guy who is talking into a radio. I rush over and scoop her into my arms, not caring that I'm getting my tears and snot on her pretty shirt. "Don't scare me like that, Hana," I whisper into her skin.

"Wonnie! I getted wost," she cries into my shirt, and I squeeze her as close to me as I can. I'm not sure how much time has gone by, but now Kim is rubbing soothing circles on my back and speaking quietly with the security guard. I'm barely listening to them as the guard tells her how he found Hana waiting near the entrance of the building in tears. Kim tells him that we got separated in the confusion at the ticket desk and he hums in sympathy. He talks into his radio some, then he asks for my ID. I'm not really in the mood to let go of my sister, so Kim reaches in my back pocket and grabs my wallet, pulling out my ID. She shows it to the guard along with hers.

Always the levelheaded one, Kimmie is. God I love her.

The guard checks our ID's and when he sees our names his eyes widen. He doesn't say anything, though, and I know Kim secretly appreciates that. We don't do what we do for the fame. We do it because everyone in this world has a little Han or a best friend or a mom or a dad of their own, and they deserve protection and safety. And they don't deserve a scheming idiot like Dementor or Drakken as a world leader. Screw that.

KP guides us to the car, concern on her face when I decide to sit next to Han instead of riding shotgun. When we get home, my parents are freaked out and then they are pissed off, but Kim gets them off my back by asking them maybe not so politely to be quiet because Han is tired.

We tuck her in and she asks Kim to read her a poem. KP curls up with her and reads until she's sound asleep.

When we get back to my room, she pulls me into a tight hug. Her finger tips gently tug and massage the hairs on the base of my neck, and her other hand rubs circles on my back. I melt into her. She curls up on my bed, flipping on the TV and putting it on mute. I trade her awesome back rub skills for having her in my arms. She closes her eyes and sighs into my chest.

After a moment, she speaks. Her voice is barely above a whisper, and the sweetness of it never breaking the serenity of the moment. "Talk to me, Ron."

I sigh. I knew this was coming, but I still don't want to talk about it.

She looks up at me. "Ron?"

I'm quiet a moment. "How is it, Kim, that I'm losing my... sanity, my senses... an you are constantly, consistently... I don't know... cold, collected, and calculating. You treated Han like another mission."

She jumps off the bed, furious. "I'm not cold, and calculating and whatever you said! How could you even... You know I love Hana like she's my sister! Not all of us have the luxury of flipping our shit when bad things happen, Ron."

"Well you can at least pretend to care," I snap. Then I realize what I said, and I'm mortified.

"Of course I fricking care, Ron! Why are you saying all this stuff? I _love_ you, Ron, and I know you like the back of my hand. Do you think I don't know how much you care about that little girl? The difference between you and me is that I can get done what needs to be done even though I'm afraid."

"I'm... I'm sorry, KP." Then what she said registers in my brain. "Wait, you were scared?"

"Of _course_ I was! You don't think I love her too? You think I didn't freak when I didn't see her with you? I just knew that if I panicked I we'd never find her." she puts her fist on her hip. She's still mad. "Do you think that I don't go into every mission, every situation, knowing that I could fail and it could be my last... or yours? Do you think that doesn't scare me? I just can't afford to let it get the best of me, because no matter what the sitch is, I still have business to get done and you to take care of."

She's right of course. I never realized that missions could actually frighten her. Then I remember how we got together in the first place. I've never seen her so defeated in my whole life. She was giving up, a could see it in her face, and in the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She was tied to giant fake cactus of all things, courtesy of her robot boyfriend. I know he's part of the reason she was so down, but hearing her talk about how she should have just stuck to babysitting... it was terrifying. After it was over, seeing her standing there in the rain, wind in her hair and a smug grin on her face, I now understand that that was a personal victory for her... kinda like how I got Drakken to remember my name. She not only beat a bad guy, but she overcame some of her own fears and insecurities. Although watching your ex-boyfriend melt into a puddle of green-sticky goo might be bad for any normal person's ego, KP shrugged it off and picked herself up like she always does. And when she gets called on her next mission, she accepts it with a wicked grin on her face, even though she knows things could get dangerous. It's one of the many reasons I plan to make her my wife.

Following my original thought, I realize that she had to think of it as another mission so that she could keep her focus. Had she started panicking like I did, she probably wouldn't have had the presence of mind to formulate a plan, and contact a security guard when she didn't see either of us around.

I owe her a big apology. A flowers, chocolate, and dinner apology.

I can see her demeanor changing. She lets her hand fall to her side and unclenches her fists. She reaches for me and pulls me into a gentle hug, and I know I'm forgiven. I'm still going to get her flowers though. Fighting with her sucks, even if I started it.


	5. Turn Around, Look At Me

**a/n: welcome back. hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter.**

** i am officially finished writing this story, i just saved my rough draft of the epilogue. hopefully that means that the chapters will come out smoothly on a weekly basis, barring emergencies. i've also started an extended, alternate ending version of 'Cold', my complete short story, if you guys are interested. so check it out, let me know what you think.**

**as always thanks to my sidekick Sentinel, this story is better because of him.**

**seriously, lets get this show on the road.**

**~temporary insanity.**

* * *

_"There is someone walking behind you,_  
_turn around, look at me._  
_There is someone watching your footsteps,_  
_turn around, look at me..."_

_~Turn Around, Look at Me, The Vogues_

* * *

**KPOV**

I wake up to his hand brushing my cheek and look around. I'm pretty sure Ron's room isn't pink and purple...

Oh. I remember now. Han had a bad dream and Ron's parents wouldn't have her in their room, so she came to us. I tucked her back in but I must have fallen asleep reading to her. She's currently sprawled on my chest, her shiny black hair in my mouth and spread everywhere. Her little fist clings to my tank top and eww... baby drool on my neck! Oh well. There are worse ways to wake up.

I brush her hair away from my face and sit up, being careful not to wake her. Ron looks on, part amused and part touched.

"How long have you been in here?"

"A few minutes. You two looked really cute."

I give him a look and slip out of Hana's bed, heading for Ron's shower. He kisses my forehead and thanks me for taking care of her last night, and I tell him that she's a special little girl, and that I love her to death. I really do, too. I'd do anything for her... even if it means letting her drool all over me all night. At least baby drool isn't as gross as old people's drool.

I still want it off me, though, so I'm relieved when I step into the steaming spray of the shower (I'm really freaking happy that the Stoppables got a new water heater... the old one was on its last legs. It wheezed it's final breath two days ago and the water turned cold just as Ron and I were about to _conserve water. _The cold water startled him so much that he slipped, falling and taking me down with him. Thank you, water heater, for ruining the mood and making him whine about his back the rest of the day). I quickly scrub down with Ron's Old Spice body wash and I shave and wash my hair in record time. I get dressed and decide to let my hair air-dry, not bothering to straighten it. Today is humid, and my hair is going to get all curly and frizzy anyway. I might as well tie it up and maintain some semblance of control over it. I apply some light make up and step out of the bathroom, going into his closet. Yes, I have clothes in his closet. I select a pair of pink jeans with a white tank top that barely reaches my last rib.

The smell of cinnamon pancakes fills the air as I head downstairs. Ron is pouring batter into silly shapes for Han, and she's sitting on the counter giggling at him as he makes the edible figures 'talk' with funny voices. I sit in the breakfast nook and watch them have their fun. Ron decides to make granola from scratch too, and he gets out some oats and chops pecans and almonds to add to it. He tosses the mix lightly in cinnamon and sugar and toasts it in the oven until its golden and crunchy. Next he pours it into bowls and grabs the milk from the fridge, presenting me with a bowl of fresh-made granola.

How awesome is my soon-to-be hubby?

He winks at my expression and sets Hana up with her pancakes. She eats happily, getting her fingers and face all sticky from syrup. Ron munches his own bowl of granola and smiles at me.

After we finish our breakfast, we're in the process of cleaning up little Han's sticky fingers when my mom calls.

"Hey mom."

"Hi honey, we missed you last night. We had a game night, and your father is still fuming that the Twins beat him in Strategories _and_ Trivial Pursuit."

"Well I'm sorry I missed that," I laugh. "We had a little mishap at JP Bearymore's... it's cool now but Ron and Hana were a little freaked."

"Oh, I hope they are alright. What happened?"

"Um... we got separated from Han at the ticket counter."

"That must have been so terrifying for Ron," she says sympathetically.

"It was," I agree wholeheartedly.

"Is he alright? Are you going to-"

"Yeah, he's okay," I interrupt, "but Ron decided to stay in with her today." I add the last part hastily and he gives me a grateful smile. Yeah, they aren't going anywhere today, and probably not until Ron is done being paranoid. Whenever that is.

"Will you stay too? I need you to pick up the twins today. And pick up some chicken for dinner tonight okay?"

The Tweebs are counseling in this soccer day camp this week and next, which is half hour out of town. I agree and mom thanks me profusely. I hear an alarm go off, and I realize she's probably up to her elbows in some poor guy's brain, so I let her go and turn to Ron. "So what's on the agenda today?"

"Um... well I'm kinda hoping we can meet Wade."

"Wade?" I frown. "What for?"

"Well, Wade's been working on some tracking technology for Global Justice and he needs to test it out... and I might have told him we'd be willing to help him out..."

"Testing... tracking technology? On who? What kind of tracking technology?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

He shrugs and rubs his neck before helping Hana into a light pink tee and darker pink shorts. He runs up to his room and grabs something, and he's still stuffing it in his pocket when he comes back. Its box-shaped.

I cross my arms over my chest. "You want Hana microchipped?"

He raises his arms in defense. "It's not my fault! He wants to test it and since those guys are still staking this place out, I think it's a good idea. I should have had it done after Monkey Fist went after her!"

"Right... okay. What's the box for?"

"Um... well, I saw it at the mall and thought of her, and I figured Wade could turn it into some sort of back-up."

I shake my head. This is out of control...

* * *

The Global Justice Headquarters receptionist ushers us right in to Wade's lab, where he works as a gadget specialist. Yes, Wade has his own lab. It looks like something out of a geek's wet dream... or maybe Drakken's dreams. High ceilings, all sorts of testing tubes, experiments, and electronic parts everywhere. I'd only been here once before, when we came to get those awesome super shoes... which turned out to be not so super for me or Rufus.

Wade smiles when we get there. "Cool, I'm glad you guys are here. So where are my guinea pigs?"

"Guinea pigs... plural?" I glare at Ron.

Wade raises his arms in defense. "I didn't know he didn't tell you, I thought you were down with it."

Han is looking around in confusion, and I sigh. She's probably going to want to see how it will be done. "Oh all right. But only because Hana looks freaked."

"H-Hana? Ron, this is experimental. We can't tag her without your parents' consent."

"I have it! Look, it's here." he pulls a folded piece of paper out of his wallet. Wade raises an eyebrow but sighs. I bet Ron forged the signatures.

He asks me to sit on this exam table. "Where do you want it?"

I stare in confusion.

"It's not really painful Kim..."

Famous last words, I think to myself. What did I get into? I tune Wade back in.

"... it will sting sort of like a bug bite for a few days, and then you can take the sticker off. When you do it should look sort of like a piercing."

"Right, because a three-year-old looks perfectly normal with a piercing in a weird spot."

"It doesn't have to be weird at all, Kim. She's just a kid. We can put it somewhere on her back or something where people won't see."

"Well then I guess put it on my back too."

Wade sets about disinfecting a spot on my back where the itchy sticker is supposed to go. He also shaves it. "You'll thank me later," he laughs when I tell him he doesn't have to do that. I don't have hair on my back. He says that everyone has at least some invisible peach-fuzz, and that it will hurt like a bitch when I take the sticker off.

Ron is watching quietly while Wade types into his program and then he grabs the sticker. It's small, only about the size of my finger nail. He places the sticker on the left side of my back, and then he rubs it to make sure it sticks. There's some more typing, and Wade announces that I'm all set just as a feel the sting of what he's explaining is a tiny radio sensor that monitors my blood pressure, blood sugar, and a multitude of other functions in order to look for signs of distress. The tiny chip it's attached to actually process the information and will emit a signal with my exact coordinates if it thinks I'm in trouble.

"It beats every security scan known to man," Wade finishes, rather boastfully.

Han complains about the itching the whole way home and I don't blame her. Ron knows he's in trouble when I shoot him a glare before taking off to pick up the twins.

I take them for ice cream. Surprisingly I've missed my brothers. Annoying dorks though they are, they are really sweet and high school suits them very well. They will start their senior year in the fall. They tell me about their friends, and I tease them about hot girls. Jim gets up for a drink and Tim takes the opportunity to confess that he's planning to ask out a girl from their soccer camp and that he's nervous. I squeal about it and he groans.

"Ugh I knew I shouldn't have told you!"

"Sorry, sorry! Awww my Tweebs are growing up!" I squeal again and Jim sits down. "Dude what's with the ear maiming?"

"Nothing," Tim and I answer at the same time. He gives us a suspicious look but drops the subject. After we all finish, I send Jim to the store to pick up the stuff that mom asked for so I can get the scoop on my brother's crush. Her name is Sophie Barbosa, and she's going to be a junior this year.

"I don't know what to do! She's really cute, and I don't want to screw this up."

"What does she look like?"

"Well she's got curly black hair and eyes... like Mom's. Her parents are Brazilian, how cool is that? But she was raised in like... Argentina or something, so she speaks Portuguese and Spanish fluently. But I think..."

"What is it?" I raise an eyebrow when he stops talking.

"IthinkmaybeJimlikeshertoo," he mumbles.

"What was that?"

"I think Jim likes her...but he hasn't said anything! Oh man, if he likes her and I date her..."

"Oooohhhh kay, no. You guys can't like the same girl. Trust me I've been there. So NOT worth the drama. It wasn't worth fighting with my best friend over a crush, how much more with your _twin_?"

He sighs. "I know, but I'm not just going to put my life on hold because my brother likes my girl."

"_Your_ girl? You should ask her out before you start calling her yours," I chuckle.

"Yeah yeah. Just tell me what to do and we can pretend this conversation never happened."

"Simmer down, Tweeb. This session with Dr. Kim could cost you." I smack the back of his head.

"Kim!"

Just then Dad gets home and Tim glares at me. Jim gets home with mom and I know the conversation is over. "Just talk to him okay?" is my parting advice before the chaos begins.

* * *

It's the weekend before the Possible and Stoppable families get to hang out again. Ron and I went on a quick mission in South Africa two days ago, but besides that we've been so busy that we barely have had time for a phone call at night.

We're having a cookout at my house. Ron helps me get my stupid GPS sticker off. I let him off the hook, but only because I know that Han could still be in danger. The people staking out his house are gone, and there haven't been any other creepy events that I know about. Somehow I feel like it's not over yet, though, and I know Ron feels it too.

Wade beeps in to let us know that the microchip is working great, and he will keep tabs on us for the next couple weeks to make sure there aren't any side effects, or infections, or anything else of that nature.

We lounge together on the deck while the Tweebs kick around a soccer ball. They start teaching Hana how to play and she has a lot of fun chasing them around. Ron cheers her on but his arms are permanently wrapped around me. It feels safe.

"Kimmie, look what I have!"

"Oh, that is beautiful," sighs Mrs. Stoppable, and I wonder what's going on.

Mom yanks me out of my comfy spot in Ron's arms and shows me a wedding magazine. Ron wisely escapes, but I'm not so lucky. The moms spend the next ten minutes planning _my _wedding before I reach my limit. "Okay, everyone stop now." My tone is dangerous and I stand up, my fist on my hip.

"Kim's on the rampage... run for your lives!" The Tweebs hightail it out of there.

I turn on my mom. "Mom, we don't even have a date yet. Ron and I are getting married, not either of you. We will plan it our way and when we're good and ready."

Mom pouts. "But Kimmie, we're just so excited..."

"Yeah, me too," I relent. But I glare again. "I swear if there's any more _planning_ that goes on around here without me, or without my approval, Bridzillas on TV will have nothing on me!"

Mom raises an eyebrow, and Ron's mom just shakes her head. She's used to my nuclear red head explosions too.

Ron cautiously taps my shoulder. "Uh, KP, since we're all here why don't we talk about a date? It can't hurt, and then the moms can continue to be excited... and at least they'll have something to plan for."

I turn to him, crossing my arms over my chest. He stares at my boobs and I raise an eyebrow. He presses a kiss to the corner of my lips and sits, pulling me into his lap. I snuggle into him before I speak. "I think we should wait until next year."

"Why?" Mom sounds so disappointed.

"Well, we've both got school, and it'll be kinda tricky planning a wedding with all the school stuff going on, plus the missions and..."

"Maybe you two should slow down on the mission thing for a while."

"What? Why?" Ron and I both sputter at that one.

"Well, you should really be focusing on your studies, and your relationship. Other people can wait."

Ron scoffs. "You guys really want some scheming villain to realize we're off duty? Look, Drakken wanted to rename Canada 'Drakkanada' for crying out loud. And he ruined Bueno Nacho! The man can't even run a decent fast food business and you want the likes of him vying for world domination? Besides, what kind of nickname is Captain Underpants?"

I giggle at him. "You earned that one, Ron."

"Well... maybe, but still! These guys don't take breaks and they don't slow down, so we shouldn't have to either."

"I'm with Ron on that. Remember what happened last time I tried to take a day off?"

"Yeah, we ended up spending Christmas in the North Pole in an escape-pod for garbage with our arch-enemies, singing _Snowman Hank_ songs."

Mom and dad both look put out by that one, and Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable shoot me a mild 'I can't believe you cart my son off to the ends of the world for your silly plans' look. Ron shoots his dad a look of his own and the older man clears his throat.

Ron smiles. "Great, so now that we've cleared that up, lets chow. We can't keep my Kimmie hungry."

I kiss him and the moms start cooing and giggling again. I roll my eyes as our dads get the food together. It tastes great, and afterward Ron and I escape the parents to go for a walk.

"I missed you this week," he says, reaching for my hand. He squeezes it briefly before dropping it in favor of a bear hug. When he releases me, I take a minute to catch my breath.

"I missed you too." I kiss his cheek and he smiles. We get on the topic of our DDR showdown, and we agree that a rematch is necessary after a lot of laughing and trash talking.

We're on our way home when Ron lets go of my hand for a moment over an itch. He's saying something, but I'm not really paying attention. Something feels off.

Next thing I know, four guys come out of the shadows, grabbing me. Before I can react, a painful shock courses through me, and everything goes black.


	6. Oh My, Look at These Skies

**holy cow... this is the real chapter six. i guess you get two updates today. sorry about the mistake. i don't even remember if this is beta'd or not. i think it is. in any case, forgive any mistakes.**

* * *

_"Oh my, look at these skies_  
_look at the trouble that they have inside_  
_i feel the flicker of the pain on the rise_  
_oh my look at these skies"_

_~Alexz Johnson, Look at Those Eyes_

* * *

**RPOV**

Watching Kim with Hana this morning was both touching and amusing. Han had climbed all over her during the night. Her hair was everywhere, her little body had pushed Kim to the edge of the bed, and she'd gotten KP's favorite pj's all wet with sweat and drool. Still, Kim looked like an angel, with one arm protectively around my sister and the other thrown over her head. Her hair looked like a haystack, too. It was cute.

Han wants pancakes, and even though I'm not in the mood for them I make her some, sitting her on the counter with me while I make her silly shapes with the pancakes. KP watches in amusement, and while I cook the pancakes I quickly toss some stuff to make granola, popping it in the oven for toasting just in time to get the goodies of the griddle for Han. I finish my granola and hand Kim some with some milk. She thanks me and watching- no, _hearing_ her eat it is sort of a turn on. But my sister is here, and so I have to behave. Damn you, Kimmie.

We set about cleaning up sticky little Han when Mrs. Possible calls. I get the impression she wants us to do something, and I'm really not in the mood. I actually have other plans. KP lets her know that, and in return she gets sent on some errands on her own. Pick up the twins, get stuff at the store... blah blah.

She's pissed when she finds out that I want to get Hana tagged. I don't think it was a big deal, but apparently KP agrees with my mom and dad that the micro chip is overkill. Well when you lose your kid sister in a crowded arcade full of obnoxious kids and angry adults, combined with the fact that mysterious bad guys may or may not be stalking you, you come talk to me about overkill.

We head over to where Wade works with Global Justice. Only then do I remember that Kim is also supposed to receive the experimental microchip. She's even more pissed, but she finally agrees so that Han can see it won't hurt. It does itch though, and they both make sure I know that before KP goes to pick up the twins. I guess I'll have to get her something else besides flowers. Club Banana gift card? Hmm...

I get Han ready and grab her bag before heading to the mall. I stop at a flower shop and order a dozen red roses for her, to be delivered this weekend. Then we head down to Club Banana.

"Hey Monique."

"Ron, what's up? What are you doing here?"

"Well... I... kinda pissed KP off. Looking for a grovelling gift….and I'll probably need to give it to her while kneeling on broken glass so that she stops being mad."

Monique chuckles. "What'd you do now?"

"I might have had her micro-chipped." I rub my neck and look away.

She rolls her eyes and goes over to a rack of dresses, handing me an off-white, flowy, short dress in what I assume is Kim's size. "Here. Take her out to Chez Conteaux."

I look at the price tag on the dress and sigh. Well, it could be worse. Kim likes brand name clothes and what not, but she's not high-maintenance and bitchy, like... Bonnie Rockwaller. Cue shudder. My sorry broke butt would get dumped in a week. But grovelling costs money I guess, so I take the dress and ask Monique to help me pick out shoes Kim would like to go with it. Now I just have to find a chance to plan the date.

Wade beeps in to ask how Han is handling the tag and to tell me that Kim will be by to pick me up. We're going to a town ironically named Kimberley in South Africa to thwart some kind of plot involving a giant hole. Whatever. Wade sets up our ride with Global Justice, and the flight from Middleton to Kimberley, which would last a very long time, ends up lasting about eight hours. Still too long to be holed up in a plane, and KP has some post crash jitters in the beginning, but she seems fine after a while. She naps in my arms and I munch on some snacks they have. KP wakes up and we talk strategy for a while before I sigh.

"KP... I think we should talk about the whole micro chip thing..."

She glares and crosses her arms. "We should have talked about it _before_ you sprung it on me, but we didn't did we?"

"I know, I'm sorry. I just knew that if the plans weren't solidified, you were going to shoot them down."

"Ron don't you think I should have a chance at an educated decision when it comes to what gets attached to my body? If you'd told me, yeah I would have shot it down, but that's my right."

"Well, protecting my sister is my right, and I won't apologize for that."

"I know." She squeezes my hand.

"Look, I'm sorry that I sprung it on you like that, I won't do it again. But I'm not sorry that you and Han are at least safe."

She frowns. "Safe and freakin itchy. Damn it do you know how frustrating that is?! You owe me huge."

I raise an eyebrow. "Dinner at Chez Conteaux huge?"

She narrows her eyes. "Huger."

"Is that even a word?"

"Ron!"

"Dinner at Chez Conteaux in your fancy new dress huge?"

She smirks. "Maybe."

"Mmkay," I say into her skin after kissing her cheek. "I'll pick you up Sunday night at seven."

"No fair, you're too good at this."

"At what, Kimmie?"

"Groveling."

I chuckle and pull her into my arms until the pilot announces that we're two hours out. We change into our mission gear and talk strategy again before grabbing our parachutes. It's show time.

When we arrive at the hole and meet the person in charge of the tourism there, it turns out that the Big Hole is actually an old mine. We do some research into what went on in the hole and it turns out that someone thinks there's still treasure in the mine... which is currently under water. Kim and I gear up for some scuba diving. Another thing to cross off my bucket list... scuba-diving in South Africa. Although diving more than one-hundred feet into a giant hole isn't exactly how I thought it would go down.

It's cool to see all the excavation sites, tunnels, and stuff down there, and KP and I enjoy it for a few minutes before getting back to work. We retrieve the treasure without a hitch and wait for the bad guy to show up. He threatens to blow us up with something or other... KP kicks his ass while Rufus and I disarm the weapon, mission accomplished. KP and I book a hotel for the night so that the authorities can process our report. The next morning we head home, and the agents on board the GJ plane congratulate us on a job well done.

Getting home is anticlimactic. GJ drops us off and Dad immediately calls me asking if I can baby sit for Han the rest of the week... something about a business trip, and mom's going too.

KP gets busy with her brothers, volunteering, and all the other stuff she normally does in the summer. When Saturday night finally rolls around and my parents get home, we have a BBQ night at the Possible house. KP and I lounge until our moms want to drag her off wedding planning. She puts her foot down, Nuclear Redhead Kim-plosion style. KP's mom gives her an eyebrow and she gives it right back. I better step in.

Once I get her to cool off, we all eat while talking about a date for the wedding. Knowing this is perilous territory; we put off the topic and decide to head out for a walk instead.

We laugh and talk for a while, wandering through the neighborhood in the growing dark. I let go of her hand for a second and when I turn back to her, she isn't there. The sound of a scuffle reaches my ears, and I follow the sound to just around the corner where four guys have shocked Kim. She's unconscious on the ground.

I get a running start and launch myself at the biggest guy, tackling him to the ground and knocking him out before another one grabs me from behind in a bear hug. I wind my leg between his and trip him. He hits the ground hard and I hear his arm crunch as it breaks. The other two guys, who are much smaller and know that I mean business, back up instinctively. They babble about getting paid fourteen hundred bucks a piece to get 'the redhead cheerleader and her boyfriend' out of the way. The guy with the broken arm tells them to shut up, and I kick him. The other two guys watch with wide eyes, and when I ask them what that means, they tell me that the person in the email wanted damage bad enough to put us both in the hospital for a very long time. That makes me wonder. Why not just have us killed?

I tell the guys to scram just as Wade beeps in Kim's pocket. "I'm picking up a distress signal from Kim, is she okay?"

I look down at her, scooping her into my arms and holding her close. Wade's eyes go wide. "What happened?"

"I don't know... they say they got paid to put a hurting on us. I think they tazed Kim."

"Should I get an ambulance?"

"No. I'll take her home."

Wade looks between us in concern. "Well at least the chip works."

Kim's mom examined her carefully when I finally got home with her, and she seemed fine. She woke up briefly but after I assured her everything was alright, she went back to sleep.

Now I'm sitting at the desk in her room waiting for her to wake up. At midnight, Mrs. Possible brings coffee and squeezes my shoulder. I pat her hand and she smiles at me before disappearing down the stairs.

At 2 AM, KP stirs, mumbling. She turns over on to her side, and her breath comes in a whimper.

"KP?" There's silence and her breathing is still deep and even, but I know she's awake."Kimmie, baby? How do you feel?"

"Like shit," comes the hoarse whisper. "What happened?"

"Um... some guys got hired to, uh... put a hurtin' on us."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. The person who hired them didn't say."

She sits up, biting back a groan.

I'm not fooled. "Lay down, KP. You're gonna be messed up for a bit. Do you remember anything about them?"

"Just that it was dark, and you had turned away for a second, and then there were guys everywhere, and I was trying to fight them. And then pain... and now I'm here."

"Seems like they shocked you, KP. The cops that patted them down found military-grade tasers."

"Oh. No wonder I feel this way." She reaches for me, her eyes widening and her lips drawing into a pout.

Like I can resist her anyway…. even without the puppy dog pout. I crawl into bed with her and she curls into me, falling asleep again almost instantly. I follow soon after.

**KPOV**

When I open my eyes, it's dark. Ron seems to have not slept much, and I feel bad for him. He explains what happened and then we sleep. Sleeping in Ron's arms is blissful, even though I'm sore and I might be grumpy when I wake up.

Sure enough I'm grumpy and tired when I wake up. Ron's gone, and there's a note on my night stand next to a huge bouquet of red roses.

_Your flowers came in this morning. Ron is off to spend the morning with Hana. He'll pick you up tonight at seven. He got this for you too._ I put the note aside and reveal a tiny envelope containing a spa gift card. It's simply signed, _Hope you feel better. I love you. -Ron._

I get a half hour massage and a mani-pedi. It feels divine, and I practically skip into my room in the afternoon to get the dress Ron says he bought me. Sure enough there's a gift box and a garment bag on my bed. I open them up to discover a very light, creamy dress that flows to about my knees and makes my tan look spectacular. There are fantastic black stiletto heels to wear with the dress. I apply some light make up and head downstairs just as Ron texts that he's here for me.

When Ron goes all out like this, good things happen.

_Chez Conteaux_ is this romantic, lakeside little French restaurant on the edge of town. We'd been here a couple times, during his coupon cutting phase, and again once he had an actual job. Now he babbles about how this restaurant is a symbol of his manhood or something like that. When I ask him why, he says that he's had to grow up a lot during his career at Smarty Mart, and that he got that job so that he could bring me here to eat. Who knew that now he'd be a store manager... and be a _good_ store manager at that? Martin Smarty offered to pay his full ride to school and has a corporate job waiting for Ron when he gets out. Ron says it's his dream... office hours so that he can spend time with me and still save the world and all that.

The hostess shows us to our seats and Ron pulls out mine before he sits down. Always the gentleman. Well not always... in high school he was lazy and rather self-serving.

"Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Ron winks. "KP?"

"Unsweet tea please," I tell the girl.

Ron cringes and I stifle a giggle.

The girl sees his expression and chuckles. "A soda for you? We have all coke products here. Would you like perhaps some wine instead? Our house wines are really good."

"I pass on the wine, but thanks."

"We've got all new flavored lemonades as well. Berry, peach, and pineapple. We also have cherry limeade."

Oh... cherry limeade. I guess I know what Ron wants.

The girl leaves to get our drinks and I laugh. "Unsweetened iced tea grosses you out, huh?"

"Blech. You have no idea."

"Would you feel better if I added a sweetener?"

He shudders. "No. not only are they gross, they also have horrible after-taste AND they kill your brain cells!"

"Right," I chuckle.

The waitress brings out our drinks and we order our food and an appetizer. Ron smiles at her in thanks, and I put my chin in my hands to stare at him.

After a minute he raises an eyebrow. "Something on my face?" He smirks when I shake my head. "I owe you something?"

I shrug. "Do you?"

He sticks his tongue out at me.

Yes, Ron is always the gentleman. The kind, mature gentleman. Right.

The next week Ron and his family are off on a vacation when Wade pages me.

"Hey Wade," I answer with a smile.

"Hey. Got a hit on your site."

"Oh... Ron's... not reachable at the moment," I frown. "Can the sitch sit?"

"No dice. Dementor is testing a world domination scheme on a small town in Norway."

"What kind of world domination scheme?"

"Um... something involving stolen jet engine parts and obscene amounts of bubblegum."

I'm sorry, what?

"I know, sounds dumb, right? Well the ah... bubble burst on the first try this morning. Two people died from the blast and another one actually suffocated from the gum stuck to his face. He's trying again tomorrow."

I cringe. "Sounds like a bad episode of _1000 Ways to Die_. I'm on it, but I need backup."

"I'll put you through to someone."

The Kimmunicator screen shows static for a moment then Shego's face appears on the screen. "What do you want now, Princess?"

"Nice to see you too, gosh!" I mutter under my breath. "Bitch," I add, still under my breath but purposely loud enough for her to hear.

She flips me off. "Well?"

"Well since you like to mock Drakken about his ridiculous schemes, how would you like to foil a world domination scheme involving bubblegum?"

She bursts out laughing. "I'm sorry... did you say... _bubblegum?"_

I nod.

"Look I know Dr- Dr. D had some seriously flawed plans but this is... not his style at all."

"You never know. Shampoo, Gourmet cupcakes... bubblegum could be the next step for him."

"He's still retired. Apparently walking around looking like a pansy takes away from his villain look."

I try not to laugh... and fail.

She flips me off again.

"You know," I chuckle, "You can call him Drew around me. My dad knows him, remember?"

"Shove it, Cupcake. You got a ride? It has been too long since I got to mock a pansy's plan."

"SHEGO!"

Her eyes widen comically and I try really hard not to laugh as she looks away. "Uh... gotta go. See ya soon bye."

"Bye pansy-lover."

She just glowers, then the screen goes black. Antagonizing Shego is a lot more fun when she can't beat me up.

Shego arrives at Middleton International Airport just as our ride to Norway comes looking for us. I smile, pulling a gift box out of my bag and shoving it into her hands.

"What is it?"

"Wade has been experimenting with your... glowing hands thing. He had your clothes sent to him while you were in jail once... and he whipped this up. I figured you might need it this mission."

She raises an eyebrow and waits till we're on the private jet before opening it to reveal a battle-suit like mine. The loopholes that allowed Dementor to hack it and control it have since been fixed, and Wade has spent entirely too much time making accommodations for Shego's... _special touch._ The result is the sleek, skin-tight black, green, and white suit that has her mouth still hanging open. "This is... mine?"

"Cool, huh?" I smirk. "There's a catch of course."

"Okay... what's the catch?" Her tone is suspicious.

"No crime, of course."

"What!? But..."

"Take it or leave it, Shebitch."

"How am I supposed to get paid?"

"Hmmm... maybe the way _normal_ people get paid. You know, with like a _job_ and stuff."

"No one would hire me."

I shrug. "I'm not so sure."

"What does that mean?"

"Depends on how this mission goes."

She huffs and gets up to change.

"I take it you accept," I call after her.

"Don't push it."

I zip my lip with an angelic smile. I wish all villains were that easy.

While she's gone, Wade updates me on the specs of where Dementor's lair is, what it is that he's doing exactly, and how he plans to distribute his 'bubbles of doom' all over the world. I'm not sure which is more frightening: the fact that 'bubbles' and 'doom' are in the same phrase, or that it could actually cause massive death and destruction on a worldwide scale. I shake my head. These things get more and more insane every time they come up. Live mutant Cuddlebuddies, cyber-robot toys, mutant flowers, gourmet cupcakes, bubbles of doom... what's next?

Cue shudder. I don't want to know.

Shego comes back and I have to admit the suit looks fantastic on her. Much better than her old one did anyway. I tell her so, and she agrees.

On the way, we talk strategy and she is adamant about trying her new suit out on the bad guys. She says she's too badass to 'save people' even if she's not on the dark side anymore. I realize that by the time we land in Norway and get to the town, we'll be cutting close to the next launching of the massive destructive bubbles. We decide that I will evacuate the people from the town and she'll engage Dementor as a distraction. When everyone is away from the town, if she needs help I will back her up. I'll be sad if her new suit gets sticky.

We arrive at the crack of dawn and I get to work waking up the sleepy town and getting them out of there. They arrive safely in two neighboring towns and I go to find Dementor's lair. It's on a mountain that I of course have to scale. It takes me a good four hours to get there, and Shego is sitting in front of a mangled-looking exploded lair... covered in sticky pink stuff.

She glares. "Don't ask."

"You're going to have to write a report anyway. Spill."

"Doctor Idiot over there-" she points to where the short man Is tied up and gagged- "was already warming up his bubble machine when I got here. He got all lippy and I got pissed, so I beat the daylights out of him, and then I popped the bubble. I might have flung the plasma a little bit off target, you know, _by accident,_ and I might have actually blown up the jet engines too."

I roll my eyes. "You were never one to leave things half-done."

"I had to use that cool shield thing so that we all wouldn't get fried. You know, this suit is really cool."

"Do I hear a thank you?"

She flips me off again.

"You know, if you keep doing that my feelings might get hurt."

"Shove it, Miss Priss."

"Let's get out of here."

"Finally. I'm missing _American Starmaker_."

"You actually watch that?" I scrunch up my nose.

"Duh. The judge cracks me up," she grins, "Just last week he told some loser that she shouldn't sing if she wants to be successful in the Red Light District, and that she should probably wear a bag over her head. He was right too, the girl was ugly as her singing and she was wearing green booty shorts and an orange cone-bra with these God-awful fluorescent pink hooker boots. Who does that?"

"He's so awful. He makes my skin crawl."

"And that, Kimmie Cupcake, is why it's worth watching."

I give her a bitch brow and she laughs.

"Seriously, though. What is with the cone-bra?"

I cringe. "Yeah, okay, I give him that. But still, does he have to be so mean about it?"

She chuckles. "Green hoe shorts and orange cone-bra, Kim. Yes, he had to be mean. And seriously, fluorescent _pink_ hooker boots? She's gotta be color blind. She's lucky that guy is the judge. Me, I would have burned her outfit with my plasma on national television….with her inside. Lord how I miss the old Gong Show re-runs."

I shake my head at her. No matter what side she's on, some things will never change.

My Kimmunicator vibrates and I answer with a smile, which quickly fades at the look on Wade's face. "Ron asked me to put him through," is all he says, and then I see Ron's panic-stricken face, his eyes red with tears.

"Ron! What happened, are you okay? I thought you were on vacation."

"Kim... there's been an accident."


	7. Unraveling

**well it's been a while. i was on vacation in Pennsylvania and New York... and i drowned my phone, so i couldn't even check my email. ****but it's all better now. i bought myself a new iPhone and one of those cool life-proof phone covers, so i'm chillin. and my phone is un-drownable.**

**and to top it off, i have a new chapter for you guys, albeit a short one. Ron's POV of this will be in the next chapter, hopefully wednesday next week. this sitch is about to get super sticky...**

**as always thanks to my sidekick Sentinel for his eagle eye catching all my typos and things that generally make no sense. and don't forget to check out my complete short story, entitled 'Cold' and let me know how you guys like it.**

**without further ado...**

* * *

_"Maybe the moon's just a hole in the sky;  
One day at a time, my world is shattering.  
Maybe the answer's to never ask why  
as I watch my life unraveling..."_

_~Tyler Kyte, Unraveling; Songs from Instant Star_

* * *

"Oh God are you okay? Ron, baby, what happened?" I can feel the panic rising in my chest. "Are you hurt?"

"I wasn't... in the car. Han caught something... I stayed in the motel and my parents took her to the clinic. They called to say they were on their way back. I waited two hours. I called their cell phones... and now I'm here in the... they haven't told me anything and I... KP I need you _please._" He keeps a rigid control of his voice until the last word, which comes out in a broken whisper.

"What hospital? I'm on my way. I'm coming, Ron, I got called on a mission."

"They were life-flighted here, KP. Mass General," he answers dully. "How'd the mission go?"

"It went fine. I had decent backup."

"Ahem, correction. _I_ had decent backup." Shego cuts in. "Don't worry, Stoppable, we'll be there as soon as we can, okay?"

He gives a half-hearted smile. "Thanks."

* * *

I burst into the waiting area at Massachusetts General Hospital with Shego on my heels. Ron jumps to his feet and wraps his arms around me. We stand there, silently holding each other until a doctor walks in some ten minutes later.

"Stoppable?"

Ron immediately turns to him and Shego puts an impatient hand on her hip. We're still in our mission gear, and the doctor seems to be impressed by her curves in that suit.

"Are you guys here for Stoppable?"

"Where are my parents?" Ron grates out.

"I'm here to discuss their condition, son," He says patronizingly. "My name is-"

Shego grabs his shirt, her glowing hand flashing dangerously close to him. Her eyes narrow. "Talk. Now."

The doctor gulps. "W-well, Mr. Stoppable, we were are still in the process of stabilizing him. He's had a traumatic brain injury but like I said, he's being stabilized."

"And Mrs. Stoppable?"

"She has extensive internal injuries and will be in surgery for some time."

Shego lets go of his shirt. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Wait," Ron interjects, "What about my sister?"

"Sister?"

I frown. "Hana Kaori Stoppable, that's her full name. Where is she?"

"We didn't receive any other patients from that accident," the doctor says nervously, noting Shego's glowing hand again.

"There must be some mistake," Ron's voice is rising in panic, "She was with them! She's three, she still sits in a car seat for cripe sakes! There's no way she could mysteriously vanish from a car accident of this magnitude."

"Ron, maybe she got sent to a pediatric hospital or something."

He holds out his hand. "I need Wade."

I hand him my Kimmunicator and Shego continues to glower at the doctor. The doctor nervously shifts his weight.

"Wade, I need a fix on Han."

"Why? She's not in the hospital?"

"No," he spits through gritted teeth.

Wade types furiously for a few moments, and the doctor clears his throat. "I must-"

"You must stay right here," I snap at him. "You aren't going anywhere until we find Han."

"I'm sorry, we really don't have anyone here by that name. Perhaps if you... describe her..."

"She's three. Japanese girl, straight black hair, brown eyes."

He shakes his head. "I don't have any patients from the accident fitting that description."

"Could you at least check if the sent her maybe to the pediatric trauma ward or maybe to a different place?"

He nods. "I'll be right back with that information."

Shego gives him a bitch brow. "You better hurry."

Wade finally speaks. "Her vitals all seem normal, although I can't really pick up much else. The chip is being jammed somehow... I'm trying to get around it still. Her coordinates will take a few minutes. When I'm through I'll have a full picture for you, Ron."

The doctor returns. "The police report says that there were only two passengers in the vehicle."

"This can't be happening," Ron mumbles, dazedly shaking his head.

I pull him to me, and he wraps his arms around my waist. I rub circles on his back while Wade types away, and Shego's hands glow again. "Check again," she hisses.

The doctor holds his ground. "I'm sorry. We don't know where Ms. Hana is." He walks away without saying even a goodbye.

Ron stiffens.

"Shh," I whisper in his ear. "We're gunna find her, okay?"

His tired, anxious eyes meet mine and he nods. Shego seems awkward now, and she mumbles something about coffee before hurrying out of the waiting room.

Half hour, an hour, two... three... five hours go by. Five hours, three cups of coffee, endless silence punctuated only by an occasional tear from Ron or me. We haven't let go of each other since I pulled him into my arms five hours ago.

Whatever is jamming Wade's signal is causing enough havoc on him for him to go to his lab and call his research team for help.

The Kimmunicator beeps, and I rush to answer. "Wade please tell me you have something."

He sighs heavily. "Only more bad news. When I got here I had six messages waiting for me from several of my sources in China. Remember you were asking me about Yori?"

I nod and Ron stiffens again.

"Kim... Yori was found murdered at the bottom of the mountain where the school is."

"W-what?" Ron's face is pale. "How?"

"Ron... I'm sorry."

"How. Did. She. Die. Wade?"

"The unofficial cause of death is exsanguination caused by a severed carotid artery. I uh... saw the crime scene pictures... seems like they did a lot more to her than just cut her throat."

Ron doesn't say anything, but he gets up and runs for the bathroom.

"Hey, genius boy... I think maybe you should finish telling me what's going on. Stoppable's heaving his guts out."

Wade continues telling Shego his findings and I run to check on Ron, not caring that it's a men's restroom. "Ron?"

"KP, I... why?" his voice is just a hoarse, tearful whisper.

"I don't know, Ron," I whisper back. "But we _will_ find the monsters that killed her. And they _will_ pay."

He just clings to my waist. We cry together for a long time.

* * *

When we finally get back to the waiting room, Shego's still using the Kimmunicator. "Drew, just get the jet here, now!"

"Look, just because I'm not active anymore doesn't mean I _want_ to help them."

"_I_ want to help them, and that should be enough for you."

"Shelby-"

"If it's not in the airport in an hour, I will personally make sure that all your assets are liquidated and you end up broke. I'll give all your money to Stoppable so he can buy his own fucking jet! Remember you stole all his money from him that one time. I would be more than happy to make sure he gets it all back! Do _not_ try me, Drew Lipsky." She disconnects and growls before pressing another button. She seems to be scanning through something on the screen very quickly.

"What are you looking for... _Shelby_?" I smirk.

She flips me off. "Your genius thinks he has a lead, I'm helping him check it out. I have sources of my own, you know."

"What's the lead?"

"The last time someone went after your little sis, what did they want?"

"Um..." Ron rubs his neck. "Crap, I'm not supposed to talk about this."

"Well talk, lover boy, coz if someone took your sister again, we're already a few hours behind. The more you hold back, the more chances of your sister ending up like your Japanese friend."

"Shego!" I gasp at her. "Insensitive much?"

She shrugs sheepishly. "Sorry."

Ron clenches his fists. "Monkey Fist. He had this mystical power called the _Yono_. He found this ancient scroll that predicted that with the _Yono_ and _The Han,_ he would be unstoppable and rule the world."

"What happened?"

"_The Han_ is actually my sister, who happens to be a ninja baby genius. She ah... kicked his butt, and because he couldn't merge the _Han_ and the _Yono _or whatever, he was turned into a statue at an underground monkey temple in Japan."

She shuts off the Kimmunicator and looks up. "Is it possible that someone is trying to unlock this _Yono_-ma-huey?"

Ron shrugs. "Maybe."

"Wait, but none of this makes sense. The emails, the stakeouts, the muggings..."

Shego gets Wade. "Hey, the guys that mugged Kim and Ron, where are they?"

Wade types for a second. "Um... Oh... Whoa. They jumped bail two days ago. They all vanished."

"Any chance they are in Japan?"

"They could be anywhere," Wade shrugs. "Their passports were confiscated though. If they left the country they have fake IDs."

"Okay... well did you ever get the license plate of the car that was staking out Stoppable?"

"Yeah."

"Run a cross reference between the people who own that car an anything that has to do with this mess."

"On it. Done and... Done! Does the name Fukushima ring a bell to you, Ron?"

He frowns. "No... wait. Oh God, he was working with Monkey Fist... to get the blade and take over the world and..."

"Wait, when was this?"

"Um... a while back….the first time I went to Japan." He collapses miserably into a chair. "You think he has my sister?"

"He was imprisoned for theft, and was released on parole around the time of Kim's accident."

"He helped Monkey Fist steal the Lotus Blade," Ron says like we should know what that means. "Oh... KP, damnit, I knew something was up. Remember Han started acting up... the walking on the ceiling... blah blah blah whatever... when the power of the_ Yono_ was about to be unleashed."

"Right."

"Well, remember I talked to her and she seemed off? Well after that we set up the surveillance and Wade said my parents were having trouble keeping up with her. There's something in her that knows when something bad is going to happen, Kim. We have to find her before that freak tries to hurt Han!"

"You said he was with Lord Monkey Fist?"

"Yeah."

"So he knows this... monkey kung-fu or whatever?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I don't know how long he worked with that ape."

"Hey, I found the car's registration. Troy Field-Monks."

I think for a second. "I don't know anyone named Troy."

Ron frowns.

"Get with the program, Princess. It's an anagram for Lord Monkey Fist. It's a lame anagram too," she smirks.

Duh. I knew that.

Ron buries his face in his hands, and I rub circles on his back.

"I feel sick," he says.

"Ron, listen to me. Hey, look at me Ron, baby." When I have his attention, I continue. "Ron, now is the time to focus, okay?"

"I'm focused, I'm focused! I can't lose my sister!"

"We will find her Ron, but we need you calm. You know the most about all this monkey stuff, so you need to get your head in the game now."

He heaves a shaky sigh. "You're right. When she got lost I freaked, and it took so much longer to find her. I can't make that mistake again. Just please... please help me. I'm losing it, Kimmie," he ends in a whisper.

I hug him hard. "We'll get her back, I promise."

Shego disconnects with Wade again. "If we have any chance of stopping this _dark Yono_ whatever guy, we need to be on a plane to Japan like... yesterday." She pushes a few buttons. "Drew, where is my plane?"

"At the airport like you requested, _dear._" His voice is snarky, and Shego raises and eyebrow but continues. It's obvious who wears the pants in that relationship...

"Good. Have them get ready for a trip to Tokyo International. I trust you two have some way to get from Tokyo to this Yamanouchi joint?"

"Yeah, we'll have someone waiting." Ron stands. His shoulders are set and stiff, his fists are clenched, and his eyes are narrowed. This is the Ron Stoppable that would do anything to save his sister, and I'm afraid that this Fukushima character has woken a sleeping giant.

* * *

The flight to Japan seems to go on forever. When we finally get there, the Sensei is waiting for us at the Tokyo airport with a student and a black helicopter.

"Stoppable-san, I am sorry to have to see you under such circumstances," his deep voice rings through our earphones. "Please allow me to offer my sincerest commiseration for your situation."

"Thank you, Sensei. I'm... sorry for the loss of Yori."

"Stoppable-San, the loss of brave Yori is only the beginning. The ancient writings proclaim that in order to unleash the full potential of the _Han_ and the _Yono_, the _Han's_ blood must be sacrificed."

Ron swallows hard, and his grip on my hand becomes painful. "He wants to kill Han?"

"He must first unlock the temple within which the evil one is buried."

"Digging up the temple will revive Monkey Fist," Ron says to himself. "The dude that was the _Yono_ or whatever before him was a statue too, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then when he's alive, he'll have the _Yono's_ power, and Fukushima will have his leader back. Monkey Fist will know what to do with Han."

"Wait," I interrupt. "What does all this have to do with mugging me and Ron? Why did they kill Yori and what was she doing here?"

"Yeah, I thought she moved."

"The traitor will stop at nothing to ensure that his plans succeed. Yori knew this. It is my belief that she was held captive for a long time."

"You think they tortured information out of her?" Shego asked, speaking up for the first time.

The old man's response is just a grave nod.

Ron's grip on my hand gets tighter. "Were they going to do the same to Kim?"

Another nod.

"Ron... ow," I finally say to him.

He releases me immediately. "I'm so sorry. Are you...?"

"I'm okay. Focus." I turn back to the Sensei. "So when they grabbed that Kitt girl thinking it was me, that was the plan?"

"Yes. Although the reason for taking you might have been different than the reason for taking Yori. You see, Yori left Yamanouchi in order to study more of the mystical monkey kung-fu, and learned all about its history and much more. She intended help you harness your power, Stoppable-San."

"They needed her for information about Han."

"Yes, and when they found out that little Han was in your care, they wanted to investigate you so that they could remove her from your care. This was the purpose of the abduction of your promised one."

Ron's hand squeezes painfully again.

We arrive at the school, and it's empty and creepy. The last time I was here, it was the same way. I shudder. Shego is looking around suspiciously, her hands glowing and ready for combat. "Listen, monkey boy," she hisses at Ron. "You hear that?"

Everyone is silent. A few tense seconds later, the distinct screech of monkeys echo in the air.

We all hustle toward the sound, silently scrambling to the top of a hill just as the ground begins to shake. A giant stone structure carved into the shape of a monkey's head emerges, and Monkey Fist's stone figure topples to the ground. When it lands, he is flesh and bone again.

We see Fukushima and those blasted monkey ninjas bow to him.

"Any one see the kid?" Shego asks in a whisper.

"Negative," Ron hisses back. "Where is she?"

I frown as I scan the area again. "She's not here."

Monkey Fist's laugh echoes through the air. "Now, I will have the power of the Han, and I will have my revenge on Ron Stoppable! I will be the only, all powerful, supreme monkey ruler!"

The Hench monkeys cheer, and Fukushima bows. "What about his... redheaded friend?"

"One of us should stay here while the rest of us search the area. They can't have left her too far off," Shego hisses as the conversation continues. I'm only half listening, though, because I want to know how I fit in to all this.

"That will be the sweetest revenge! He stole the secret of my power when he became exposed to the mystical monkey power. I will steal the secret of his power as well. I. Will. Destroy. Kim. Possible." He lets loose a maniacal laugh and all his monkey followers cheer.

Ron is practically twitching with fury beside me, and I beg him to simmer down. "Ron, please. If we get caught here we're all toast. How many times have you heard that before, huh?"

"This is different," he snaps, "He knocked off Yori, and he wrecked my parents so he could kidnap my sister. If he touches you I'll kill him."

"Let's just focus on finding Hana and getting out of here okay? You and Sensei stay. Shego and I will sneak around and search the forest."

He softens briefly, turning to hold me close to him. "I love you, Kimmie," he breathes into my hair. "Be safe."

"You too," I whisper back. I kiss him, and then Shego and I turn to go. We quietly circle the clearing where the temple and fade into the forest.

The forest is dark and eerie. Shego keeps her hand lit so that we can see. I'm starting to think we're lost when we come across a cave up on a small cliff face. I grab my grapple-dryer and haul us up to the entrance.

Little Han is laying in a dark recess of the cave, sleeping peacefully. Tears fill my eyes and I run towards her, stumbling blindly to reach her. Shego shouts a warning, but I'm not sure what she's saying. All I know is that Hana is here, and she's safe. I can get her and we can get out of here. I'm so close to her, I can hear her deep, even breathing now, even over my own. I reach for her, taking the last step to finally sweep her in my arms, but then suddenly I'm falling. The air whooshes past my face and the darkness intensifies before I land in frigid water. The force of the water against my back forces the air out of my lungs. Can feel myself fading, and I fight with all I have to get to the surface of the water, but everything goes black.


	8. Yesterday

_"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away  
Now it looks as though they're here to stay..._

_Oh, yesterday came suddenly."_

~The Beetles, Yesterday

* * *

**RPOV**

I can feel the fury rising in my mind. All I can think is that he took my sister. He killed Yori and he wants to kill Kim. And all I want to do is annihilate him. The Yamanouchi School will have its justice tonight. Everyone he's ever hurt will have their justice tonight.

Kim is trying to keep me calm, and I can hardly acknowledge her over the roaring in my ears. She and Shego want to look for Han. Part of me is afraid to let her out of my sight, and the other part of me knows that KP is highly trained in survival situations, and that she and Shego together are practically unbeatable in a fight. They will be fine, I tell myself over and over. I hug KP close to me, inhaling her calming scent. She smells better than normal. I wonder if she went out and bought my brand of body wash again as she squeezes me tightly. I tell her I love her and to be safe, and she returns the sentiment, and then they slowly circle around the temple, making their way into the trees.

Sensei tells me that we should engage them as soon as the girls are safely away, and I can feel the heat of my _gift_ rise in me. Monkey Fist is still babbling about his plans to take over the world, and I reach for the Kimmunicator which Kim left so that I can record it. Sensei is watching the whole thing in absolute silence, and I admire him. He never _ever_ loses his cool. I on the other hand am ready to kill the first thing I can get my hands on.

That happens to be one of the monkey ninjas that attack when they realize that Sensei and I have been spying on them. He drops like a three-ton weight and the next three targets come at me from several different angles, and it takes a couple extra seconds to get rid of them. Sensei is busy proving he's still got it even though he's old as dirt. He and monkey freak are duking it out, but I want him myself.

My _gift_ swells in me again as another monkey ninja comes at me with a sword. I have to avoid him and he effectively pushes me back into a rock out-cropping. I hate monkeys.

Sensei sees my situation. "Call it," he says, and I don't know what that means. Another monkey ninja comes. "Call it, it will come."

A memory of the sensei's deep soothing voice rings in my ears: _So long as your heart remains pure, the Lotus Blade will always know the way home. Call it back to you. _The Lotus Blade! I wonder if it'll work seeing as how I'm not feeling very _pure_ right now, but next thing I know it's in my hand, and I'm able to get out of the trap.

Two, four, eight monkeys fall. Sensei is still engaging Monkey Fist, and I'm pretty sure he's... losing. I cringe as Sensei face-plants. Monkey Fist seems ready to knock him off, and I tackle him at full speed, smashing him into the stone wall of the temple. The air wooshes from his lungs and his head makes a satisfying crunch as he slams into the wall. He lands in a heap on the ground, giving Sensei time to recover.

"You're too late," the monkey freak spits at me, "I already have your little Han under my spell."

I'm so angry I'm practically vibrating. My hand tightens around my sword.

"Kim Possible has already met her demise, and you will be next."

I swallow. KP is fine, I tell myself over and over. She's gone to look for Han, she'll be safe in the woods until this is over. She's okay. She's okay.

Monkey Fist seizes the opportunity created by my brain at his words, tackling me to the ground and knocking the sword out of my hand. We roll around for a while, neither of us gaining the upper hand.

"Give it up buffoon," He grunts.

"You haven't heard? The buffoon thing is way old. Of course you've been quite a bit... over your head these past three years, haven't you?"

He lets out an enraged roar. "Yes, no thanks to you!"

A monkey ninja flies into him at that moment, and they land unceremoniously several feet away from me, becoming tangled and tripping each other in their effort to get up.

In a flash I'm in his face, sword, now a pocket knife, at his throat as the stupid monkey sails through the air, landing with an inelegant thump. Monkey freak scowls at me, his hideous dark eyes snapping with fury. I dig the knife a little bit deeper.

Sensei's hand is on my shoulder now. "Stoppable-san. Do not let your anger cloud your judgment."

"My judgment is A-ok, Sensei. He's the reason Yori is dead. He's behind my sister's kidnapping. My _parents_ have nothing to do with any of this and yet they are laying in some hospital bed on the other side of the world. KP is out there, maybe lost, maybe hurt-"

"Or definitely dead."

I press the knife again, effectively shutting him up. A single trickle of blood makes its solitary way down his neck. I want more. The anger inside me is choking me, and I realize that I'm very capable of killing this man. I wonder if that should scare me...

"Stoppable-san," the sensei soothes, moving my focus away from the criminal's pulse and on to his voice. "If you do this you will be like him. There is no honor in becoming what you despise the most."

"He took my sister," I growl.

"And you would take his life?"

"He took Yori's." The sensei is silent and I continue my rant. "He's self-absorbed scum. He finds a secret power and instead of using it to help other people, he uses it for his stupid world domination schemes. People _die_ and he doesn't care. Why should I care if he lives or dies?"

"Because you too have this special gift, and you _do_ use it for the benefit of those you set out to save. Do not use it now for the sake of revenge, for this is also self-serving."

He's right. I don't need to reduce myself to his level of scum. Doesn't mean I can't hate him with an ardent passion.

I grab his throat, and his hand struggle uselessly with mine as his breath begins to come short. His head makes contact with the wall. He falls to the ground unconscious. I spit on him as I walk by.

"Let us find your beloved now."

The small touch-screen lights up just as I'm about to connect to Wade. He's typing furiously on his computer. I also notice he's not in his house. "I know what happened with the chip," he says by way of greeting. "High altitude messes with the signal."

"Wha..?"

"Ugh I wish I had caught it sooner! Because it's still in the testing phase, the government isn't willing to pay for the maintenance for satellite usage. So right now the coordinates triangulate off of cell towers. Cell phone signals don't work at high altitude you know. When you're seven miles in the air, like... on a plane for example, the readings are screwy."

"So you couldn't trace Han because they were flying her here."

"And I can't trace her now either. However, I can trace Kim. Her distress signal is full force. She's near the river about six miles from your position. I'm uploading her exact location to you now."

"Remember that necklace I gave you for Han?"

"Yeah. You wanted a traditional chip in it. Think it still works?"

"It's worth a shot."

"Okay. The coordinates for Kim are there now. I'll get back to you."

I swallow. There's a chance monkey freak might be right, and KP didn't survive this. I'll personally cut him into tiny pieces if that is true, I don't care if I end up being scum like him or going to jail or anything else.

It takes forty minutes to reach the river, and several more hours to follow it down the mountain, hacking through the jungle in the dark. We reach an out-cropping of rock just as we hear tiny sobbing sounds.

Han is here. "Han! Hana, sweetie where are you?" I yell desperately. "Han, please, listen to Ronnie! Tell me where you are, I'm coming."

"Wonnie?" comes the small voice.

Its hard to see in the dark, but I can tell there's some kind of opening a ways up the face of the rock. I get ready to climb until my hands fall off, but Sensei stops me. He points to another way up the giant formation that will take less time and save energy, and I practically sprint to get to her. When I reach the entrance, it's vaguely lit with green.

"There's no firewood, so I had to make due," an ironic voice echoes in the darkness.

"Shego, where's Kim?"

She sighs. "I couldn't get her, Stoppable. She fell through this... I guess it's like a shaft. Full of water. I went in after her, but she was gone. I came back for the kid. Fukin-she-man or whatever his name is came for the kid, and I went ahead and knocked him off. He should be floating face down somewhere right about now. Turnabout is fair play. That shaft is a trap, and Kimmie fell through it. For all I know she drowned. So I might have pushed him... and he might have broken his neck on his way down. It was... purely an accident." I can practically hear the smirk on her face.

After a moment, she gets serious. "I'm sorry I couldn't find Kimmie. The kid is fine, but she seemed a bit cold. I had nothing to warm her up with except this..." she sheepishly holds up her green-lit hand.

I try not to think about everything she just said, choosing instead to hold my sister for the first time in what feels like years but has only been two days. Her hair doesn't smell like candy anymore, and her skin is cold. Her tiny shoulders tremble with the force of her sobs. I couldn't love her more...

* * *

Han refuses to let go of me, and so we pack up and head out of the cave with her on my back, continuing the hike down the mountain. Shego and Sensei lead the way, while I lag behind, trying to process everything Shego said. Fukushima is dead. KP...

I can't help the tears that fill my eyes. Oh God, please let her be okay. Please, please, please...

The river is beginning to get wider and shallower as we progress down the mountain. Some light now filters through the dense foliage, although not much. In the shadows, I make out a figure laying on the opposite river bank. Shego hops over and a wicked smirk crosses her face. She bends down, placing her index finger on the soft flesh of what I make out to be someone's neck. "Fukin-she-man's on to next plane of existence," she announces with a derogatory chuckle. "Who knew that to be good you had to be bad?"

"Um.. didn't you? Weren't you a hero before you switched to the dark side?"

"Yeah... but they lied about the cookies. Among other things." I raise an eyebrow and she shrugs. "Kimmie's pretty bad-ass herself, you know. She just kicks tail for the right side of the law."

I smile nostalgically at that, and then my thoughts get muddy and panicky again. We have to find KP.

Shego swipes the Kimmunicator. "This thing says she's still a mile out."

I take off at a dead sprint, leaving Han with Shego. I stumble a lot as I run through the woods, scrambling between trees, over rocks and stumps, getting wet as I splash through mud and puddles. I don't care. I know she's around here somewhere, and I'm going to find her.

I can hear Shego trying to keep up, but I have no clue where Sensei is. Again, I don't care. I'm going to find Kim.

I trip over something, face-planting and skidding to a halt near a tree. I take the opportunity to catch my breath, rolling onto my side and spitting out the mud that got in my mouth. Freaking gross.

Shego catches up just as I get to my knees to stand. "The thing says she's here somewhere."

I jump to my feet, forgetting about catching my breath. I squint through all the green, brown, and grey, looking for anything that could be Kim's. I wade across the river which is now more like a stream, and it barely reaches my knees. I take the opportunity to rinse the mud from my face. When I reach the other side of the river I scan the area again.

There! Green, green, brown, rock, tree... white. It's her shoe. . I run towards her, dropping to my knees. Whispered pleas fall from my lips as she opens her eyes.

"Ron," she whispers. Her voice is raw. She tries to sit up, but falls back, grimacing.

"Kimmie, baby, don't try to move okay? We're going to get you out of here."

"Ron... where's Hana?"

"She's safe, KP, Shego took care of her."

"Shego babysitting? That'll be the day." she tries to laugh, but it ends in a horrible cough that has her in tears from the pain.

"Shove it, Princess," Shego snarks, "for once keep your mouth shut. Let us help you okay?"

Kim nods and I can tell that that action is painful too. Wade notifies us that rescue teams will come look for us, and that they've already cleaned up Monkey Fist and company. Sensei decides to collect firewood, since Han and Kim are both two shades from hypothermia. He sets the wood in a pile and sets about trying to find a way to light it. Shego watches for about thirty seconds before her patience wears thin. She lights her hands and zaps the wood, which instantly begins to burn. I bite back a chuckle at the look on the sensei's face.

As she begins to warm up, KP dozes off a little. It freaks me out, but Sensei assures me that she's just resting. Han falls asleep in my arms too and as the shades of green and grey begin to lighten, one by one, Shego, Sensei, and finally I succumb to exhaustion.

**KPOV**

I open my eyes. Everything hurts and I can barely move. My mission suit is intact, but I know I've got at least a broken bone if not worse. I try to remember what happened, but I can't think of anything except frigid, painful darkness. I'm beside a river, and all I see around me is trees and foliage.

I'm alone. I don't know how I got here, and I'm in too much pain to move. I guess now is an acceptable time to panic, however I can't do that. I have to find a way to get help. I try to reach for my Kimmunicator but then I remember that I left it with Ron.

I hope he gets here soon. It's cold, and for the second time of my life, I'm afraid that Kim Possible has reached the end of the road.

"... don't try to move okay?"

Ron... I love you.

"We're going to get you out of here."

Thank God. This is uncomfortable as hell. Wait... Ron had to get... where's Hana?

"She's safe, KP," he says, and I wonder if I spoke out loud. "Shego took care of her."

Shego? Babysitting? Ha. That will be the day. Extra, extra, read all about it: Hell froze over, aliens have invaded, pigs can fly, and former villainous sidekick slash mercenary extraordinaire, Shego, babysat a three-year-old... voluntarily. I want to laugh, but I start coughing and my ribs scream in protest.

"Shove it, Princess," comes her voice, sarcastic with a hint of concern. "For once, keep your mouth shut. Let us help you okay?"

Not like I have much choice, I think to myself as I feel my body protesting to all the abuse it endured. Someone sets about building a fire, and the darkness that claims me this time is warm and peaceful.

* * *

I stay the night in observation in a hospital in Tokyo. They tell me that nothing serious is wrong with me, except just lots of bumps and bruises and two cracked ribs. I also drowned, apparently, so they want to keep an eye on me to make sure my lungs are okay.

I get another achy but clean bill of health and we are sent on our way courtesy of Drakken's private jet and pilot.

I sleep most of the plane ride home. At some point I ask what happened to Monkey Fist and Fukushima, and Ron's face darkens. "Fukushima is dead. Fisk is in prison."

The tone of his voice makes me drop the subject. I snuggle into him and he puts his arms around me, but the action feels wrong. "Ron... are you okay?"

He gives a half-smile in response. "Okay as I can be under the circumstances."

Something in his voice feels wrong. Something about the way he repeatedly kisses my hair, smells my skin, stares at me. His honey eyes catalog every feature of my face, his hands travel every inch of my body. His lips are at my ear, kissing, whispering. As if... as if he were saying _goodbye_.

I'm afraid. This level of fear rarely happens to me, and for the first time in four years, I'm afraid that it's the end of everything I know, dream, hope for. And I have no idea how to stop it.

* * *

Ron settles Han on his hip as we approach Massachusetts General Hospital for the second time. His hand grips mine tightly. Shego decides not to stay, saying instead that she wants to finish her reports for Global Justice. She's excited about starting a job there, and I'm happy for her. On the plane ride home she contacted her family in Go City, and they were thrilled to hear from her. She told them what had happened and they begged her to join team Go again. She politely declined, but promised that they could contact her if they ever need an extra set of hands for a mission. She promises me the same as she heads back to the airport, and I ask her to let me know when she's home.

When we approach the information desk, the receptionist's expression tells me that something is very wrong, and I feel like a two-ton rock has settled in the pit of my stomach.

A volunteer shows us into a small family room outside of the Intensive Care Unit and Ron settles Han in my lap. He refuses to sit, and I know he can feel the dread and tension too. It makes me feel worse and I squeeze Han to me, ignoring my ribs' protests.

After the worst ten minutes of my entire existence, a doctor comes in the room and takes a seat across from me. Ron stops pacing, standing next to me. "Well?"

The woman heaves a sigh. He searches her face a moment, then he nods. His fists clench, and his nails bite into his palms so hard they begin to draw blood. I reach for his hands, trying to get him to stop hurting himself. He doesn't reject my touch, but he doesn't acknowledge it either. I wonder what's going on when he finally speaks. "Mom or Dad?" His voice is rigidly controlled.

"Mr. Stoppable is currently here in intensive care. The electroencephalogram results did not show any brain activity."

"He's brain dead."

The doctor looks away.

Ron just nods again. "Do I have to... right now?"

"No no. Please take your time, I know the decision is a difficult one." The doctor gives a nod in each of our directions and practically runs out the door.

Ron swallows hard. "I need to be alone... for a few minutes."

I nod at him, unable to speak. The other shoe has dropped. All I want to do is hold him, but his back is stiff and his posture is closed off. I take Han's hand and take her out of the room, promising her favorite candy.

When we get back to the waiting room after a couple hours, Ron's sitting in the corner of the room, head in his hands. His shoulders are shaking visibly. Han's eyes immediately water. "Wonnie?" she sniffs, "Why yew sad?"

He reaches for her and she crawls into his lap. He starts to cry, and Han seems so confused, but she cries too. She knows something is very wrong. "Hana..." He finally says after he calms down some, "Do you remember how the bad man came to get you?"

She nods and frowns. "They wuined daddy's car," she sniffles.

Ron moves her, settling her on her feet and kneeling in front of her. "Momma and Daddy got very hurt."

"Well they can get better now right? The doctors will help their boo-boos!"

Tears stream from Ron's eyes. "No, baby girl. Momma and Daddy... they aren't with us anymore."

"But doctors are apposed to get them better!"

"They tried their best," he barely whispers, "but it wasn't enough."

I can't hear anymore. Barely keeping my sobs at bay, I turn and sprint out of the room, running and running until I finally reach a bench outside the building. I reach for the Kimmunicator and it trembles in my unsteady hands. "W-Wade... put me through to mom... _please._"

Wade looks alarmed and does as he's asked. "Kimmie! Where have you been?! You took off on a mission days ago and we haven't heard from you since and... Kimmie honey what happened? Why are you crying?"

"Mom!" the relief of seeing her on the touch screen makes me lose control, and I cry for a long time. When my sobbing finally reduces to an occasional sniff, Mom's face is pale and alarmed. "Honey what's going on?"

"Momma... Ron's parents... c-car crash..." my voice is raw and my mind is racing. I still can't believe this is happening.

"Oh Kimmie, I'm so sorry. What hospital are they in? Do you need anything?"

I nod, tears burning in my eyes again. "He's gunna need... you to talk to the... to help arrange... funerals."

Mom's eyes widen. "Kimmie... I'm so sorry, honey. Dad has to stay with the twins, he'll help Ron with whatever he needs to arrange okay? I'll be on the next flight out."

"Thanks," I cry at her, and her eyes mist.

"I'll be there soon okay?"

Wade comes back on the screen, having heard the entire conversation. "I'm booking your mom's flight now. You guys can count on me for whatever you need okay?"

"Thank you," I whisper.

"Kim... you guys are my best friends. You don't have to thank me. Mrs. Possible, your flight leaves in two hours. American 224 to Logan Airport okay? Your confirmation info should be in your email now."

"Thank you, Wade, dear."

"Oh... and I booked first class. Since you're going... commercial..." he shudders, "You might as well at least try to be comfortable."

I shudder too. Flying commercial is miserable and slow. Thank god for connections with people who own private jets.

Mom chuckles at both of us and disconnects, saying she has to call dad and get out of work. I thank her again, and Wade looks once at his cup of soda before throwing it in the trash. I guess he lost his appetite.


	9. Gunna Get It

**new chapter. sorta (a little bit) angsty and sorta candid with sarcastic humor... let me know what you guys think.**

* * *

****_So why me?  
Why they coming after me?  
All this, it's a conspiracy, you see  
Can't hide...  
the more I stay awake, the more you try_

_But ooh, you're gunna get it  
gunna get it, gunna get it  
You're gunna get it gunna get me good_

~Gunna Get It, Alexz Johnson

* * *

**RPOV**

Kim and Han are out somewhere, and I ask to go in and see my dad. Seeing him laying there with all those tubes and monitors is awful. There's a tube in his nose with this milky white stuff the nurse explains is actually feeding him. One in his mouth breaths for him. Wires and tubes coming from his chest keep his heart beating, as evidenced by the monitor near his bed on the left.

I heave, and the nurse quickly grabs the trash can. Empty of the contents of my stomach and empty of tears, I squeeze my dad's hand and ask the nurse to get the doctor. When she comes, she looks sad.

One look and she understands. "I'll get everything ready," she whispers.

Some time later, Jonathan Daniel Stoppable II is pronounced dead. The room clears of all the people and I stare at my father through my tears. I can't believe he's gone...

* * *

KP and Han come back some time later, and they both start crying when they see me. Han asks me why I'm sad, and her lip quivers as she sniffs. I lose it, and soon I'm crying like I'm the one who is three years old. Kim is still standing in the doorway, her hand over her mouth to stifle her sobs.

Even though I'm not sure she fully understands what I'm telling her, Han still freaks when I tell her our parents are gone. She cries until she falls asleep, her breath coming in uneven hiccups as she rests. KP is gone somewhere and I wish I could run too.

She's back a few minutes later and her eyes are red and puffy and she looks really unsure all of a sudden. "I... um, I called mom."

I shrug and nod.

"She's on her way."

"Okay."

She's quiet again and the silence gets a bit awkward. She leans on the doorjamb and her hair falls in her face. It's rather curly, since it's been a few days since we've been home. After missions her hair always gets what she thinks is disastrous. It really just curls a bit. Its more curly now, considering her unexpected swim and all this time gone from home. I think it is actually gorgeous. But she wont hear it. The second she gets home, she'll press it into submission. For now I enjoy watching her push it out of her face, running her hands through it and detangling it with her fingertips. When she shoves it over her shoulder again, it falls in fiery waves down to her waist again. She looks frustrated with it and I reach for her. "It's fine," I tell her.

She shrugs. "I don't care how it looks right now. I care that it's all tangled and in my face." she sits down next to me, staring at her hands. Her hair covers her face again, and she reaches up to push it away. I stop her, taking her hand and kissing her ring. I tuck her hair behind her ear, and her pretty green eyes water again. "Ron," she whispers, "I'm so sorry."

I pull her into my lap and she squeezes me tightly. I ask her how she's feeling, and she tells me it isn't important.

"Bullshit."

"I'm more worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

Yeah, my girl always has the last word.

* * *

She eventually falls asleep in my arms, and her soft breathing actually helps me stay calm. Han sleeps until Mrs. Possible bursts into the room, starting her.

I just nod in her direction, motioning her to be quiet. She sees Kim sleeping and Han's wide eyes, and she apologizes sheepishly. I set Kim down on the couch-thing and she curls on to her side. I brush her hair out of her face again and kiss her temple. Her mom looks on with an expression that tells me that if she weren't worried about waking KP she'd be shrieking about how cute we are or something. Instead, she walks across the room and puts her hand on my shoulder. "Your parents were very proud of you, you know," she whispers.

I stare at my shoes, watching them blur from my vision. She hugs me close and I let loose on her again, getting her clothes all wet and stained. She just squeezes me tighter. Suddenly I miss my mom more than anything. Mrs. Dr. P. has been my other mom since I was four. I love my mom, But Mrs. P was the one that drove Kim and I around everywhere as kids, enabling us to do everything together. She was the one that told me about the birds and the bees, the one that explained why KP was so moody all the time after her twelfth birthday (I'm glad I'm a guy, by the way) and laughed when I called her freaking out because KP needed me to get her tampons...the one that from the very beginning encouraged us to be together. "Tickled pink" was the term she used, actually, when Kim was wearing that... mood thing. Shudder. That was scary. Moody KP is always scary, but that was a special case of terrifying.

She's always been there for me, for us. That she's here now... means everything. She rubs my back and rocks back and forth, just like moms do, and it reminds me that I don't have one of those anymore. I cry harder, she holds me tighter.

* * *

We eventually all fall asleep in the tiny family room. The next day police come and go, since the crash wasn't an accident, and Mrs. Possible sits with me every time they're going to ask me questions. They finally receive the reports from what happened in Japan and leave Kim and me alone, but because the accident is 'suspicious' now, they want to do full autopsies on both my parents. I shrug. They're dead now, what do they care?

KP sits with Han when the cops question her, leveling them both with her infamous look and letting them know that if they upset her they'll answer to someone who knows 16 styles of kung-fu. Then she clarifies that "that translates to sixteen different ways to disarm you and kick your ass into next week, are we clear? Good." The cops want to laugh it off, but she actually crouches, ready to fight, and they take her seriously. They question Han with the utmost gentleness. When she announces she's done talking, Kim gives the cops another brow and thanks them in an icy tone that leaves no room for argument and one of them shifts uncomfortably while the other suppresses a shudder. My girl rocks.

One of the guys in one of my cooking classes, Caleb, actually lives in this area and shows up twice with food from some of his favorite take-out joints and a super huge carafe of coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and Kim breathes a sigh of relief at not having to resort to hospital coffee. He leaves me his number and tells me that if we need anything else, like rides or stuff like that, to let him know.

Phone calls, texts, and emails flood all of our phones. Felix calls and leaves a voicemail, telling me that he and his folks are ready to help with anything I need. Josh Mankey surprisingly also calls and leaves a text message, saying that he's very sorry for my loss, and that he's there if I need to take a break, talk, or anything else. I appreciate that sentiment... maybe I'll blow off some steam with him once all this is over. Bonnie calls Kim to let her know that she'll be decorating the funerals since KP's taste apparently sucks, and it would be a complete defilement if Kim were to have a say in the decorations. Kim just rolls her eyes, thanking her through her teeth before hanging up. The girls from her college cheer team seem to also have found out, and Kim's phone is flooded with emails and calls from them, offering condolences for the loss of her future in-laws. Dr. Possible calls Kim's mom to let us know that the fridge is full and he doesn't know where to put all the pies and casseroles people are sending over for me. As if I can't cook. I tell her that Dr. P can get my spare key out of KP's room and put all the extra food in my house. The Tweebs offer to babysit Hana, telling me that since we're going to be busy that they can take time off summer camp to sit with her and make sure she's okay. Maturity works on them.

Shego calls Kim, and in her own sarcastic way offers her condolences as well, and KP is a bit more gracious with her than she was with Bonnie. She tells us that she can help the Possibles handle stuff back home in Middleton, and soon Dr. Possible is relieved that he has help with all the food and phone calls.

Monique texts to let us know that she's not going to let Bonnie sink her rabid teeth into my parents' funerals, and I'm grateful. I trust Monique the decorating freak. She also says that Wade's folks are going to let me have their... spots... in the graveyard, since my parents didn't have any. Which surprises me, because my dad's job was to figure out the probability of a person dropping dead at any given moment. I shoot Wade a text and he says that his mom says not to mention it.

At the end of the day I feel overwhelmed and depressed, Hana is restless and tired of being here, and KP looks destroyed. Mrs. Dr. P books hotel rooms for us for a couple nights and we sleep on a normal, albeit itchy, bed for a change.

At two in the morning, Hana wakes up screaming. Kim and I scramble out of bed, ready to fight. When we realize she's just having a nightmare, we both rush over to her. Kim falls asleep with her again while singing "Say the Word" softly in her ear, and I watch them for a long time. I wonder how I'm going to take care of Han while I'm in school... and a wave of anxiety hits me. I'm all Han has, besides the Possibles anyway, and I have no clue how I'm going to _raise_ her. She's three, she needs parents. Not an absent big brother and girlfriend.

I calm down slightly as I watch Kim shift, wrapping her arms around Han protectively. She takes the best care of my baby sister, and I know that she's going help me figure something out. She loves little Han too, and she always has a plan... and a fierce protective streak.

The next day, KP takes Han and goes with Caleb for lunch, leaving me and Lady Possible to handle funeral arrangements. I'm part grateful and part overwhelmed with all the help I'm getting from the Middleton end. Shego scares some people into submission so that Mrs. Load and Dr. Possible can make the arrangements on that end, and Mrs. P's bitch-brow makes Kim look like an amateur. Martin Smarty calls personally to have me talk to his assistant about funding the funerals, and I politely decline. I've heard my parents talking about their life insurance policies, wills, and investments. I should be able to fund the whole thing eighteen times over. By the time Caleb, Han, and KP are back, everything is set up and Wade is talking to Dr. Drakken about a flight home, courtesy of Shego's threatening to remove some... appendages.

We stay another night in the hotel and Kim's mom offers to take Hana to her room tonight. I hesitantly accept, and Kim kisses my cheek before heading for the bathroom. I stand in the doorway as she brushes her teeth and picks up her hair brush. One of the most attractive things about Kim is her hair. Fiery red and thick, hanging almost to her waist. Every time she cuts it it makes me sad. When she finishes brushing it it's smooth, shiny, and soft, free of tangles and incredibly sexy. I want her to leave it that way, but she refuses. She braids it instead, and I'm pacified, knowing that tomorrow it will be all curly.

When we finally slip into bed, she curls into me and I can tell she's crying again. I don't even know how to soothe her because I feel like crap too. It rattles me a bit to see how unglued she is. Granted, I am too, but she's always been the fierce one, and I've always been the unglued one. She kicks ass, I distract with my freaking out, and she saves the day AND my ass. She says I've improved a lot, and I admit that I have, but she's still my rock. To see her shaken like this is unsettling to what sense of security I have left.

I get up before the alarm in the morning, and Kim rolls onto her back. I see her sleep shirt riding up, and I wince. Her ribs look awful, and I wonder how much she's been faking though the pain, especially with all the crying she's been doing. In her sleep she winces when my fingertips skim her bruised skin. She's sooooo staying in bed today. I can take care of myself. Shego says we don't have to be at the airport until three so she'll have plenty of time to rest.

I shower and Mrs. Dr. P and I grab some breakfast. We're silent until we're walking back to the hotel, then she speaks. "How are you, Ron?"

I let out a mirthless chuckle. "If I had a nickel for every time I heard that question this week..."

"Ron, I know you."

I sigh. "I think I'm okay. I'm kind of numb..."

"I suppose that's normal."

"It would be normal for my parents to NOT get knocked off in a car wreck so that some monkey-obsessed lunatic could kidnap my sister. Too bad that didn't happen," I snap.

"But it did happen, and you're hurt and angry."

"You have no idea."

"I do. My parents wrecked at the hands of a drunk driver when I was a teenager. My mother died in that accident. I was angry for a long time."

"How did you... move on?"

"With a lot of heartache, time, and of course support from the people who love me, Ronald. There's no... time table or plan for a person's grief, you know."

"You're right. I like this. I like being numb. I can take care of KP and Hana better this way. I guess now I get why Kim's always so 'head in the game' and all that. I'll have all the time in the world to be pissed the hell off later. Right now I just want all of this to be over."

"Kimmie and Han are just as worried about you."

My shoulders sag. "KP is losing it. She _never_ loses it! She doesn't even take her pain pills for her ribs anymore. I saw them today, they're bruising something awful, and just brushing it was painful. She still slept with Han, even though she kicks, its like she doesn't even care that her ribs are broken. Broken, Dr. P!"

"Cracked," she replies softly. "Kimmie knows the limits to her body. When she has enough she's going to make sure everyone knows she's reached her limit."

"No, this is different. She was crying and then I woke up sometime last night and she was in the bathroom throwing up. She's not okay and I don't know how to help her, and I need to help her."

Mrs. Possible looks pensive for a moment. "Maybe I should check her when we get back. You two should rest today. I'll take care of Little Hana. Your friend Caleb says he'll take us to the airport. He'll pick us up at about two o'clock."

I give her a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"Ron, honey... the first time I heard Kimmie babbling about her new friend Ron, I knew I would come to love you like one of my own children. You make my baby happy. You always have, and that's all I've ever wanted for her. Watching you two grow up together has been like something out of a fairy tale, or a book or a movie... and I'm honored to have experienced it in real life. You've always been there when Kimmie has needed you, and your family always supported us in our times of need. You don't have to thank me for doing the same for you. Not after all you've done."

Her speech has my eyes watering. The only time I can recall our family ever having to help out the Possibles was the time the Tweebs burned the house down in some kind of fusion experiment having to do with school mystery-meat and five-alarm sauce. Shudder. Kim had to rescue everyone from the house and it burned to the ground. The fire marshall strictly prohibited indoor fusion experiments and the house that the Possibles live in now was purchased three weeks later. Well, besides the time her living room got destroyed by cybertronic robots... well, and the time her whole house got smashed to pieces by an alien robot thing. In the mean time, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P. took the guest room, the Tweebs slept in the den, and KP slept in my room. I slept on the couch. Mom graciously took the ladies P shopping, and Dad got some of the clothes I'd grown out of from the closet and helped Jim and Tim pick some things they liked.

I smile. Having the Possibles live in our house gave me some of my favorite memories. We had barbeques every weekend, movie nights where Kim curled up with me to watch some action movie even though she thought they were ridiculous, and game nights where we'd team up against the parental units and Tweebs and kick everyone's ass in Uno. Some Possible-Stoppable traditions were born from that event, and, until recently, we still barbequed, had game night, and went out for dinner.

All of that is gone now...

Mrs. P picks up on the shift in my mood and squeezes my shoulder gently. "Talk to me," she says quietly.

"I was just remembering the times you guys stayed with us. There was that time the Tweebs burnt the house down... We used to have game night almost every night, because mom n dad were peeved that KP and I could kick everyone's ass in Uno."

"And in Trivial Pursuit. And in Monopoly."

"You guys always thought we cheated."

"You did," she laughs. "Jim and I and Dan and Yvonne never figured out how though."

"We never cheated. KP and I just... are a great team. We always have been," I tell her, my voice wistful.

"How did you do it?"

"Simple. You guys always fall for the Boardwalk thing. While you guys were busy trying to get the most expensive properties and railroads, we were busy setting up the Team Possible Empire and getting ready to buy you all out when you went broke paying us rent."

She shakes her head. "What is the fastest you guys have ever had us in the hole?"

I think about that. "Last year. We worked out a plan and in like six turns, we had Dr. P. He went bankrupt like two turns later remember? I learned a thing or two in business class..."

"Sneaky and ruthless. No mercy," she grouses.

"Uno is like that too. You guys dump all your special cards on us in the beginning of the game so we end up with the mother of all hands to beat you guys with and you have no defense. The Tweebs figured it out though. They almost had us once. But our next to last card was a take four, and we chose the color we knew you guys wouldn't have. Only the Tweebs had it, and they had to play our card. It helps that Kim has a fantastic memory and remembers everything that gets put down. She can tell exactly what cards are left at the end of the game. She knew we had the last wild card."

"I guess she would get thrown out of a casino though."

I laugh. "Surprisingly, Poker is the one thing that KP sucks at worse than me."

"Why?"

"We're both horrible bluffers. We can't lie to save our lives." We talk until we finally reach the hotel and I'm grateful for the light mood. It's good remembering my parents like this, instead of how the were in the last moments of their lives.

Han is still sleeping on the bed opposite the one where Kim is still sound asleep. She tires so easily these days...

I wake them up while Mrs. Possible gets their breakfasts set up. After they eat, I shake a tiny white pill out of the bottle and hold it out for Kim with a bottle of water with a look on my face that warns her not to argue.

"Ron... those things make me so sleepy!" Yup, she's arguing anyway. Redheads. Can't live with 'em. Can't live without 'em. Can't stuff 'em in your trunk...

Well, I can't live without _this _particular redhead. And good luck stuffing her in your trunk.

"Sleep! We don't have to check out until noon, it's only 9 in the morning."

"But..."

"No buts. And don't try the pout on me, I know you threw up last night and I know your ribs are sore."

She pouts anyway, and I can feel my resolve falter. Her eyes are wide, and her lip is all cute and... I'm so screwed. Good thing Mrs. Dr. P. has my back. "Ron is right sweetie. You should rest today. Just take it, I promise you'll feel better later on."

"But mom..."

"Kimberly Anne."

She huffs and takes the pill from my hand, and I smirk at her. She glares in return before downing the pill with the water. Ten minutes later, she's asleep again, and her sleep seems much more restful than last night. Dr. P pushes her shirt up and gently checks her ribs, frowning. "The bruising is significantly worse. Maybe you were right, Ron. If they continue to get worse at this rate we'll have to take her to the ER to be checked."

I don't like the sound of that. Dr. P presses down slightly and Kim cringes away from her. "I'm not pressing on her rib," she says in confusion. "I think that she needs to see a doctor now."

"It can't wait till we get back to Middleton?"

She shakes her head. "She slept with Hana night before last, right? It's possible that she re-fractured a rib by accident. If it splintered, it could be causing internal bleeding."

"Internal bleeding... like my mom... had?" I gulp, not sure I want to know the answer.

She shakes her head. "No no, honey. Your mom's injuries from what I read were... out of control. This is different. We can fix this, but only if she gets checked out now."

I call Caleb, and he agrees to give us a lift back to the hospital.

* * *

I'm starting to hate hospitals. I'm starting to despise this stupid room. I want Kim to be okay so that we can go home. The waiting is killing me. Kim's mom is watching me pace back and forth with an exasperated look on her face. Finally the doctor returns and I practically pounce on him.

He chuckles. "Relax. She's fine. Dr. Possible was right about the splintering. The x-rays showed some minor splintering that was causing some minor bleeding and irritation. We had to go in and remove it, but she should be okay now. In fact, if all goes well, she can be released from here tomorrow."

Great, another day in Mass General, and another night in the itchy hotel bed... and this time I'll be alone. This sucks.

We head back to the hotel and book the last night here, and then we go for dinner even though I'm not very hungry. Momma Possible gives me a look as I pick at my salad. I never was a fan of salad anyway. Why did I order this shit again? Oh, right, because it's what KP gets when she's not hungry. Ugh. Not even the dressing makes this stuff remotely edible.

We talk more on the way back to the hospital, and she asks me about Japan.

"I'm not supposed to talk about it."

"Ron, you can tell me."

I shake my head. "I can't. Last time someone found out about this it lead to my parents being slaughtered. Do you understand? I can't let that happen again... not to you. Please, don't ask me." I can feel the panic rising in my chest as I speak.

"Shh... it's okay. I don't have to know the specifics. Just tell me from the beginning."

"I... can't," I whisper. "All I can tell you is that I've made an enemy of my own, and he obviously will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

"How did you meet this person?"

"On a mission."

"Why is he fixated on you?"

"We have something in common."

She frowns, obviously confused. "Okay... what does this have to do with the murder of your parents?"

"We have something he wants."

"Something... like what?"

"I can't..."

"Ron, sweetie-"

"No! No please... I can't lose you, I can't lose Kim. I don't want to talk about it okay?"

She gives me a sad smile. "Okay." we reach the hospital to find that KP has been moved out of the recovery area into a room for observation. She's still sleeping. A blood pressure cuff is on her arm, and there's a little red light on a piece of some kind of tape wrapped around her index finger. Both readings show up on a monitor over her bed. Lady Dr. P explains that it keeps track of the oxygen in her blood. I remember they made her wear one in Japan too. There's an IV in her other arm connected to a bag of plain saline. Her braid isn't as neat as it used to be, and her hair sticks to her neck and forehead. The overhead light is on, making her ivory skin look pale and sickly. I turn it off, and the wrinkle between her eyebrows disappears. I pull up a chair, taking her hand and kissing it. A nurse comes in, checking her monitor and tells us that KP's jewelry was put with her personal effects for safe-keeping. When she leaves, Mrs. Possible speaks again. "Ron, you can't keep this inside you forever."

"The hell I can't," I grumble.

"Ron—"

"I have no choice."

"Kim will tell me if I ask."

I smirk. "Not likely. The Japanese government issued the gag order. Global Justice has all the files. Director's eyes only." She sighs and I smirk again. "You really want to know don't you?"

She gives me a look. "Your parents were murdered because of this secret that you've been exposed to. You've put yourselves at such high risk over this secret, traveling all over the world to defeat this enemy of yours. You _deserve_ peace in this too. You are a victim in this too you know. Not just your parents."

That doesn't make sense. I... it's my fault, because I dragged them into this mess. I'm not a victim...

"Ron," she says, "You _deserve_ for just to be done _for_ you, not _by_ you. Do you understand? The government wants to keep a lid on it, that's fine. But what about you?"

"What about me?" I shrug dejectedly. Who cares about me? It's my fault this is happening.

She searches my face. "This isn't your fault, you know."

How on earth does she do that? No wonder Kim tells her everything, even risking being heard by all of Dr. P's colleagues. It's no use hiding anything from her. From now on, full disclosure with Dr. P.

I tell her everything, starting with my trip to Japan as an exchange student, laughing with her as I tell her how KP's jealous streak always came out with Yori, even though they eventually came to an understanding. I cry when I tell her that the school actually sent Han to us because of that stupid prophecy that caused all this disaster. I tell her about the stalking, the attempted mugging on Kitt who was supposed to be Kim, Yori's murder, and Han's kidnapping. I tell her exactly how KP cracked her ribs and why it took so long for her to come home.

By the time I'm done, Kim is awake, and she squeezes my hand. I squeeze back, pressing my lips to her hand again. She gives me a sweet smile before speaking, saying the words that I need to hear the most. "I don't blame you," she whispers. "No one blames you."

"I do," I tell her.

Kim's mom hugs me. "There is no one to blame but the monsters that did this."

That stays in my head for a long time, and bitterness settles in my stomach. She's right. _He_ did this. He's going to pay.


	10. If Only

**well hi people. welcome back. sorry i missed a post last week. things have been ferociously insane for me. i think my beta had a crazy week too. that guy is always busy. in any case, this works out because this chapter and the next are made up of 90% of almost exactly the same thing in two different points of view. so i will post one today, and the other on thursday (even though i told my beta i would post one per week.. sorry Sentinel... and thanks for keeping up with me even though i'm pretty sure i just made your life that much more complicated lol) and so i will be able to make up to you the post that i missed. **

**i missed you guys, and am looking forward to your responses to this chapter. i also have a couple outtakes in the making for this story, which will take the place of the weekly chapter when they come out. the first one has to do with cold blooded homicide, so it will be rated M. the second one has to do with... well, you'll see.**

**as always, thanks to Sentinel for picking out my mistakes, and thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far, and be sure to check out my one-shot, Homecoming Smackdown, and my complete short story Cold. **

**without further ado...**

* * *

___Finally understand ____why things have happened a____nd how it all could go so wrong. ____Will this pain ever end? ____'cause I don't think I can carry on._

___If only I, had been less blind..._

___~If Only, Hoobastank_

* * *

**KPOV**

On the way home, Ron's back to that closed off, angry person again. I try to give him his space, and Mom looks super concerned. When we get home Ron wants to rest and I don't blame him. Our house is chaotic so I grab Han and we head to his house. He walks in the door and all of a sudden I'm flying backward. He's standing outside the door looking like he saw a ghost. "I can't... be in there..."

I bite back a groan from the pain in my ribs and climb to my feet, looking at him in sympathy. "Why don't we hang out at Bueno Nacho tonight?" I ask, trying to mask the pain in my voice. I hope there aren't any torn stitches or anything. That would suck.

His sardonic eyes watch me for a moment and I know I'm caught again. Why do I bother trying? His eyes linger on my side.

"I'm okay," I sigh at him.

He smirks. "You aren't but I'm not going to argue with you. Do what you want."

"I want to make sure you're okay. You just said you don't want to be here, so we are leaving."

"Yes, ma'am." His attitude is really starting to piss me off.

I get Han and shoot him a look, letting him know he's working my nerves. He shrugs and takes the keys from my hand, starting up my now black Sloth. He dubbed it the Kimmobile a while back. Not even bothering to protest, I set Han in her safety seat and get in the passenger side. We arrive at Bueno Nacho a few minutes later, and Han smiles. She likes the nachos and Ron gets her a chocolate taco too.

I just get a drink and he gets his usual. I smirk at him and grab a sweetener, ripping the tiny pink envelope and pouring it in. "Want some?"

"Pass, thanks." His expression is hilarious.

Monique drops into the booth next to me, nodding in greeting before digging into a naco. I shake my head, leaning into the window and sipping my drink. Han's chocolate taco starts to melt and get sticky, so I lean across and clean up her fingers and face, putting a napkin in her lap and over her shirt just in time for a glob of ice cream to fall out of it and into her lap.

Ron looks over at her and back to me. "Kim Possible: saves the world AND your wardrobe."

I tip an imaginary hat. "No big."

Monique laughs. "Been a while you two."

"How is it managing Club B?"

"Oh you know. Rude customers, great employee discounts... same old."

"Any chance you'll share some discounts with me?"

"Not a chance, girlfriend, I want to _keep_ getting the discounts. Understand that I can't do that if I'm fired."

I shrug. "It was worth a shot."

Ron shakes his head. "How was your semester?"

"Boring. Yours?"

"Equally boring. Except my cooking classes…..I'm great at them, and I have a lot of fun."

Monique puts down her food and reaches for his hand. "How are you coping with all this?"

He gives her a sad smile and shrugs his shoulders. "I'm coping."

She gives his hand a squeeze and I stare at their hands. I can feel my eyebrow climbing and Ron shakes his head again. "Knock it off, KP."

Monique looks really uncomfortable. Holy cow... she's crushing. On Ron. _My_ Ron.

Ron gives me his 'the look' and I stare out the window.

"KP are you seriously mad?"

"Not at all. You've only been acting like a jerk all day and now my best friend is flirting with you under the guise of genuine friendly concern and you are your usual clueless self."

Monique goes to stand up. "Um... sounds like you guys need to talk, I should get going-" A look from me and she clears her throat. "I mean, I should throw this away and... be right back." She nods to herself and dashes to the trash can.

Ron sighs. "I'm sorry I'm being such an ass today."

"What happened?"

"I just have... a lot of things on my mind. I don't want to talk about it, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I tried giving you space, you know."

"I know. Thank you. I just... I feel nothing and everything at the same time... it's overwhelming and I'm sorry it makes me snippy. I just need... time to figure it out."

Now I feel bad for going off on him. He squeezes my hand. Then he releases it with a frown on his face. "Was she really flirting?"

I raise an eyebrow and smirk.

He puts his face in his hands. "Yeah how do I miss this stuff?"

"That's the million dollar question, handsome."

"At least I don't miss _everything_."

"What didn't you miss?" I chuckle.

"Well... Bonnie was pretty obvious." He looks uncomfortable.

"She kissed you, Ron."

He gags, choking on his drink. "More like she raped my mouth! God knows how many diseases I got exposed to just by being within three feet of her, much less having her gross tongue in my mouth! Ugh! Burnt pizza tastes much better on... well... anything."

"So you had your tongue in her mouth?!"

"Ewww... No way, KP. She was the one probing me... I'll be scarred for life, I assure you. I'd almost rather kiss a monkey—scratch that, I'm _sure_ I would rather kiss a monkey."

I sit back in my seat an hmph at him.

"Quit jellin', Kimmie. That was years ago."

"You still think about it."

"Yeah, in my worst nightmares! It's right up there with you being a synthodrone and melting into a puddle of green goop... and being abducted by aliens."

"The alien thing actually happened."

"I know, I was there."

"Add that to the ever-growing list of things Kim Possible can do."

"How big is that list anyway? Hmm... survive alien abduction, plane crash, mutant octopus, drowning, being fed to electric eels, sharks, and giant squid..."

I just watch him tick the things off his fingers , and I'm sure the expression on my face is incredibly bored.

"... climb onto supersonic rocket to save the world, fight cybertronic robots, get stuck in TV, getting chocolated to death, literally..."

I laugh at that. It was the time Ron got slightly OCD about calculating the odds of bad things happening to me... and himself. I took Wade with me on a mission, and we ended up getting captured. Drakken's brilliant plan to destroy us was to drown us in chocolate gounash. Inside a cupcake factory. I think he reached an all new low that day.

"—get zapped by who knows how many rays, have your house attacked by mutant zombie snowmen, get captured by evil babies... oh my God, you even survived being me."

"And being attached to Bonnie," I add with a shudder.

"We have a weird life."

"That we do," I laugh. An idea pops into my head. "Come on, Ron. Let's drop Han off with my mom." I grab his arm, yanking him out of his seat.

"Wait... where are we going?"

"You said you feel overwhelmed. You're obviously pissed off at something. Let's blow off some steam old school."

* * *

"KP are you sure about this?"

"We do it all the time, what's the big?"

"KP, sparring with you and fighting you are two different things."

I shrug. "We are sparring."

"Yeah but normally it leads to... other circumstances."

I feel my face heat up.

"I'm not... what if I hurt you? What about your rib? You're telling me to let loose on you like you're... _him_."

I crouch, a challenging smirk on my face. "You? Hurt me? Please."

"Oh bring it." He launches himself at me, and soon there's a crowd around the ring in the gym we're in (which we got free platinum memberships to after saving the owner and his kid from an elephant escape at the zoo) cheering and whooping as Ron and I work out. He backs me into a corner, a smug smirk on his face. "Gotcha."

"Not on your life." I flip over him and he charges me, knocking me over. I accept defeat so that we can get a drink and some boxing gloves.

The owner is watching us in the background, obviously impressed, as Ron blocks a punch and swings at me. He's still worried about my rib, and he's distracted. "Focus, Ron," I tell him as my left fist makes contact with his stomach.

"It's not a good idea, KP."

"Fair enough." I work through a series of combinations that have him down twice. "I'm fine," I tell him. "Just don't hit it, okay?" I help him up and we go again.

He finally gets in his zone, and he comes at me faster, his expression one of intense fury.

"Talk to me," I tell him.

"He killed them," he growls between swings. "He caused Han the pain of losing her parents _again!"_ I duck as his right hand comes at me and block a body shot from his left. Thank God I blocked it, that would have killed my rib.

"He has to pay," He says over and over. His voice is is terrifying, and I'm glad he's not really mad at me. We go two more rounds at the most intense pace he's ever fought at, and I have to work extra hard to keep my rib out of his way. In two rounds he knocks me down three times, and each time his expression is one of complete fury.

By the time I'm exhausted from boxing, I know his fury is far from gone, and I figure I might as well work him on an area he's not that great at. I toss him a bottle of Gatorade and set up for some Mantis Kung Fu. He has me down four times. Apparently the best way to get him to fight well is to piss him off.

When we finally leave a drooling martial arts student body some four hours and God knows how many bruises later, Ron is completely drained. He falls asleep in the car, and when we get to my house he barely has the energy to peel his sweaty workout clothes off. I shove him into the shower... as much as I understand the whole sexy glistening thing now that I have a boyfriend, I don't want him sweating up my bed. Ten minutes later, he pours himself into bed, falling asleep instantly. I shower and put on some comfy pajama shorts and a tank top, heading down stairs.

"Hi honey," mom greets, "How's Ron?"

"He's sleeping. He needed to blow off some steam so we went for a work out."

Mom raises an eyebrow. "What kind of work out?"

"Well, we warmed up with some basic stuff, did some Kung Fu, kickboxing, boxing... the usual."

"Honey, your doctor said no contact sports until your rib healed. Let me see it."

"Ron might have been completely infuriated, but he minded the rib. No harm done, I promise- hey! What are you doing to my shirt, mom?"

"I'm just lifting it to check your ribs." she pokes and prods me for a minute, and I sullenly sit still, flinching occasionally when she gets to a spot that hurts. She looks me over, her eyebrow wrinkling. "Are you... is that a bruise?"

I shrug. "You should see the other guy."

Dad puts down the TV remote and turns to me. "You let Ronald _beat_ you?"

"No way! He doesn't _beat_ me, dad. We train to fight. Period. Ron and I _spar_ with each other and _fight_ with the bad guys. Generally losing isn't an option in the real sitch. This type of training allows me to bust the bad guys up pretty good, anyway, so give it a rest."

"Kimmie, I know Ron is hurt and angry but letting him take it out on you wasn't very-"

"What else was I supposed to do? He was so wrapped up in being a pissed off jerk that he wasn't even paying attention to Han anymore! He _let_ Monique flirt with him. He so had to go down for that!"

Mom sighs, probably feeling like this discussion was going nowhere. Dad looks a bit deranged and I wonder if he has a space probe he's launching this week...

I walk across the room and sink onto the couch, wrapping my arms around my knees and burying my face in my knees. "He's falling apart at the seams," I mumble into my lap. "I don't care if it hurts, I'll do whatever it takes to stop it." Tears burn my eyes.

"Kimmie-"

"He'd do the same for me."

Mom wraps her arms around me, and I lean into her. "Everything will be okay," she says into my hair, and I shake my head.

"Two funerals. Two people that loved me, and that I loved. Two people that died on my watch. I shouldn't have been on that mission, I should have been investigating the people stalking Ron. Shego could have handled that herself."

"Honey, it's not your fault-"

"I'm supposed to save the world! I couldn't even save my best friend... I couldn't save his family. How can anyone call me a hero when I let my best friend's life be destroyed?"

"Honey there are things that are out of any person's control, even you. You couldn't have known that this would happen."

I squeeze my eyes shut, but the stupid tears leak out anyway.

Mom rubs my back. Her hand falters so briefly that anyone else would have missed it.

I reach my hand out, and after a few moments, _his_ warm hand meets it.

"I can't sneak around on you can I?" I feel the other side of the couch sink, and then his arms are around me too, and his lips are in my hair.

"No, not really," I chuckle through my tears. "Feel better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," I whisper. "I owe you."

He snorts. "For what? Doing what you do best?"

I stiffen and he kisses my hair. "You can't sneak around on me either, Kimmie. I have a right to be on vacation with my family..."

"And you have a right to me having your back, and I didn't."

"You always have my back. No one bats a thousand." He echoes the words Monique used at the very beginning of senior year.

I shake my head, and more of those stupid tears drip down my legs.

"There's one person to blame for this." his voice is almost unemotional, but I shiver at the ice in his words. "It isn't you," he adds, and his tone is softer. His fingers tangle in my hair and I see his other hand slip under my arm. "Look at me." His honey eyes meet mine, serious and intense. He wipes my cheek with his thumb. "I love you," he says simply. "This isn't your fault."

"But I should have..."

"KP they tried to get us out of the way to do what they wanted without interference. If I had been in that car I would be dead too. If you'd tried to stop them you'd be dead too."

"I don't care," I tell him savagely. "Better me than you, or Han, or anyone else! I should have been there!"

"No, Kimmie," he whispers. "The world needs you. Don't blame yourself for being... brave and special... and beautiful and... amazing. Don't. Because without you this planet would fall to pieces just as surely as I would."

"I'd rather the whole world fall apart than you."

After a long silence, "Kim... can I ask you something? Be honest."

I stare at him, waiting for him to ask.

"Do you remember when Drakken stole the Hephaestus Project from your dad, that we went to get him?" I nod, and Dad watches us intently. "I was surrounded by syntho-henchmen and your dad was about to get fed to that giant mutant octopus thing." I nod again. His eyes bore into mine. "The line was lowering your dad in the tank, and you ran to help him, but I yelled. What did you do?"

"I-I destroyed the drones."

"And your dad?"

"I-I... knew I could save him, but you... I-I had to stop them from hurting you..." my breath starts to come short. I know what he's asking, and I don't want to say it out loud, but his voice is low, smooth and commanding.

"Say it, Kimmie."

"No," I protest, tears filling my eyes again.

"You didn't know that you could save him, did you?"

"I can do anything," I snap at him.

"You can't have it both ways, KP baby. Either you risked your own father's life for mine, or you could have made it back from Norway in time to save my parents and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

I shake my head. "There are always risks. I knew dad would be okay."

"But you didn't know."

"I had to stop the... they would have hurt you, and I wouldn't have been able to fight them and save dad alone."

"You just said you can do anything."

"Stop it!" I scream at him. "I did what I had to do!"

"You were willing to sacrifice your dad for me," he whispers.

"I can't... lose you."

Dad's face is pale and sort of clammy.

"I saw you, KP. You looked at him, and you looked at me, and you jumped in and blocked a hit from one of those robot guys. You took them all out in the time it takes to say 'boo yah' and you didn't even blink when your dad went under. You _risked_ your family. For me. Willingly." I stay silent. I have nothing to say to that, it's the truth. The scariest part is that I would do it again.

Ron takes my left hand, absently toying with my ring. "KP, if I'd told you that I didn't feel safe, what would you have done?"

"I would have stayed," I answer, without hesitation. "I would have investigated every possible lead."

"And if I'd known that they'd followed us on vacation, and told you?"

"I would have gone to meet you."

"And Professor Dementor would have been free to continue his dangerous ridiculous experiment on unsuspecting towns. And you wouldn't have been able to help Tim get that date. You have a _life_ KP, and I have one too. We both have a right to that." I scrub my eyes with the heel of my hands, getting ready to argue again. He cuts me off. "If you'd come, we'd both be dead and Han would have no one. She'd be in the hands of that _scum_ and he'd use her _blood_ to take over the world. It was either my parents or you and Han."

"You didn't know they were going to follow you. But _I should have known_! When we started doing these types of missions I swore to myself I'd never let you get hurt. I... I failed you," I cry.

"No, Kimmie," he says, squeezing me close to him. "You did the best you could, like you always do. No one blames you for this. It happened... and we can't change it."

Dad clears his throat. It's obvious he has no idea what to say to the fact that I may or may not have left him up to Luck's mercy to save Ron. Mom is just staring at us.

Ron's hands frame my face again, wiping my tears with his thumb and pushing my hair back. "When we started doing these types of missions, we knew what was at risk. Your parents supported you and mine did too. They knew the risks. We always protected them, and sometimes they protected us. The Possible-Stoppable team is not just Kim and Ron, it's all of them, too. And they all run the same risks we do."

"No," I shake my head, "they don't. Dementor, Drakken... all of them, their beef is with _me_ and _you_. They didn't have to drag anyone else into this!"

"They didn't. They use it, yeah for sure. Drakken could have stolen any cybertronic project. Dementor could have kidnapped Wade and forced him to make a new battlesuit for him, but instead he invented a device so that he could kill you with your own. Really, these people are underhanded and evil, and it doesn't matter how much we shield everyone from it, people we know are bound to get hurt, and we knew that going into this. For pete sakes, Drakken found a way to get your grandma to beat you up."

"You're right I guess," I concede.

"Then I guess it is safe to say that the difference between what happened then and what is happening now is that you had a choice."

I nod. "But that doesn't change the fact that your parents are dead."

"No, it doesn't. It isn't supposed to. Nothing we could have done then or can do now will change it."

My shoulders sag. "Then... what happens next?"

His sigh is heavy. "I don't know, Kim. I don't know."


	11. If Only, Pt 2

**RPOV**

I'm not really sure this is a good idea, but KP is squared up, dressed in her work out clothes (which at this time of year consist of shorts and a too-short top that expose the smooth skin of her perfectly flat stomach and toned legs, making her look like every man's wet dream) to fight me in this gym we jokingly call The Fight Club because they teach everything from boxing to mixed martial arts in here. The owner gave us free memberships after we saved him and his kid from a stampede of elephants... it's a long story. And we can add elephants to my ever-growing list of phobias.

I'm worried about her rib, but she assures me it's fine. Yeah, like I believe that after the last time she said it. I'm afraid I'll hurt her.

The smirk on her face when I say that out loud tells me she's about to push my buttons to get me to fight. She does, and we spar until I manage to back her into a corner. "Gotcha," I smirk at her, but she grins and launches herself over my head, landing right behind me. I know what comes next, she's pretty predictable. She's going to sweep my feet out from under me, and I avoid the kick, charging her. I knock her down and land on top of her, barely stopping myself from crushing her bad side. Her chest is heaving and her face is flushed from the work-out. The hairs that strayed from her ponytail are now sticking to her neck and forehead. God, she looks sexy.

She gives me a knowing smirk and a peck on the lips. "You win," she says. "Lets box." some guys come help us strap in to some boxing gloves and I can tell she's winding up to work my nerves again. I really don't want to get pissed here, because I don't want to hurt her. She tells me to let loose on her again, and I refrain. A sort of un-official match begins, and I'm a bit anxious. KP could beat any one of those pro-boxer dudes if she put her mind to it. And she's winding up to push my buttons again, I realize as she gets off a series of perfect punches, I block her as much as I can, countering with a few of my own. She lands one in my gut and knocks me down, hissing at me to focus.

She comes at me with a move that has nothing to do with boxing... in fact, I've only ever seen one other person do it... _him_. His face swims before my eyes, and the fury that rises in me chokes me. I swing at him viciously, smack after satisfying smack resounding as my gloves make contact with him. Suddenly he's down, and I snap at him to get up. He does, and I continue my assault. He has to pay. He killed my parents, he took my sister. KP... she's messed up because of him. I _hate_ him! I hate him I hate him I hate him!

A bottle of Gatorade appears in my hands which I realize have no gloves anymore. We're in an enormous room with a matted, bouncy floor and mirrors on the far wall. In the mirrors I see him come at me, and I duck. I know what this is, this is what he does best: Kung Fu. And I'm determined to beat him at his own game. I attack him aggressively, knocking him down and hissing at him to get up so that I can kick his ass again. He killed my parents. He took Han. She wakes up screaming because of him. He has to pay-

A sound catches my attention. It's sort of like a cross between a grunt and a whimper of pain. I look around, wondering where the sound is coming from. I feel so hazy, like I'm under water. I shake my head, trying to dispel it from my brain. I look down, and I see flaming red hair and emerald eyes, looking up at me in concern. "Ground Control to Major Ron."

KP. What on earth is she doing down there? I try to let her know I'm listening. I need to... straighten up. Then I realize I have her pinned to the ground. I let her go immediately, climbing to my feet. I hope I didn't hurt her.

"How do you feel, Ron?"

"Like I'm going to keel over," I barely manage before suiting actions to words.

She sits next to me, cross-legged. Her hand rubs my back and another bottle of water appears in my line of vision. Oh God, water! I chug it desperately at first, then more slowly as I take in my surroundings. There are thirty or forty speechless people over by the wall, mouths hanging open. I wonder what they are staring at.

Kim follows my gaze and chuckles. "They didn't know anyone could beat me in boxing. You blew everyone out of the water today." she points towards the small crowd, which include two boxing trainers and several martial arts teachers who now have drool hanging from their lower lip.

I stare mournfully into my now empty water bottle. She replaces it with the rest of the Gatorade I had earlier and I thank her, still dazed and incredibly thirsty. I figure the only way to get out of this funk is to take inventory. Hmm... I can see, no black eyes or anything. My arms feel like lead... so do my legs. I'm sooooo tired. KP slugs like a pro, and she obviously landed a solid one... or two... in my gut. My hands are trembling from exhaustion.

Kim climbs to her feet and helps me up. I cling to her as I sway. I didn't know I could be this tired before. She sits me down on a bench and tells me to catch my breath while she talks to some people. I hear her charming the drooling instructors and some of the astounded students. I feel a surge of pride. Everyone knows she's the best, and students beg to train with her sometime. She graciously takes all the compliments, although I know she hates them and continuously plays them off with a 'no big' and and her signature adorable flustered smile.

Eventually I recover my basic functions such as speech and movement, and I stand up to rescue her from the adoring fan club. The owner of the place must have gotten the same idea, because he reaches her at the same time I do, putting a hand on her shoulder and steering all the people back towards their activities. They talk briefly, and I hear them talking about action pics of us, and KP says she wants to see them all before they get posted on the gym's site and that she better get me home before I pass out from sheer exhaustion.

I hardly make it to the car before I'm asleep. KP wakes me when we're back at the Possible house and I barely have the energy to make it upstairs and peel my clothes off. She guides me into the shower, and the warm spray does wonders for the more achy parts of me. Soon I'm asleep again.

When I wake up again, it's late. The bedside clock reads 12:48 and I wonder why Kim isn't here. I'm still tired, but I know something's up, and I sneak down the stairs to investigate.

I tiptoe towards the living room, and what I see breaks my heart. KP is curled in a ball on the couch, her mother's arms wrapped around her while she cries that it's her fault that My parents died. I feel sick. There's no way any of this is her fault. _He_ is at fault, no one else, and especially not her. Mrs. P catches me spying, and I beg with my eyes for her not to give me away, but KP unwraps an arm from her knees and reaches out to me without even bothering to look up.

I chuckle and take her hand, sitting next to her and wrapping my arms around her. "I can't sneak around on you, can I?" I ask ruefully.

"No, not really," she sniffs, letting a chuckle escape through her tears. After a moment, she squeezes my hand, and her watery green eyes peek form under her arm. "Feel better?"

"Yes. Thank you," I tell her, and I mean it.

"You don't have to thank me," she whispers. "I owe you."

I scoff at that. She owes _me_? She _owes_ me? "For what?" I question with a snort. "For doing what you do best?" Seriously, Kimmie, someone as intelligent as you actually saying these absurdities out loud? Has the whole world gone crazy?

Her back goes rigid at my tone, and I pacify her with a kiss in her hair. I tell her that we have a right to live our lives, and that no one blames her for doing just that. She says I have the right to her having her back, and tears spill from her eyes. I tell her there's only one person to blame for this mess, and she shudders. It's then I realize how menacing my voice sounded and let her know that I don't mean her. "Hey, look at me," I tell her, gently untangling her arms from her knees and lifting her chin with my finger. Her eyes are still bright from tears, and her lip quivers. I brush the moisture from her face and look into her eyes, getting her attention. "I love you," I tell her. "This isn't your fault." She tries to protest, but I interrupt her. "KP they tried to get us out of the way to do what they wanted without interference. If I had been in that car I would be dead too. If you'd tried to stop them you'd be dead too."

"I don't care," she hisses, and her eyes snap angrily. "Better me than you, or Han or anyone else! _I should have been there!_" The tears that come from her eyes now are angry and desperate, and her voice is rough and enraged.

I hold her close, trying to calm her, trying to keep my own feelings at bay. "No, Kimmie," I whisper to keep my voice from cracking, "The world needs you. Don't blame yourself for being... brave and special... and beautiful and... amazing. Don't. Because without you this planet would fall to pieces just as surely as I would." It's the truth. Screw the laws of gravity, screw physics and science... Kim Possible is what keeps this planet together, what makes the sun rise and set, what keeps it from flying out of orbit and into a black hole never to be seen or heard from again. She keeps everything, and I mean _everything_ going.

Her voice is quiet now, so serene and accepting that it frightens me. "I'd rather the world fall apart than you."

I don't know what to say to that. Except that I feel the same. The difference between me and her is that she's always had the capability of keeping her family safe... except that she chose not to, once. I wonder if she knows I caught on to that. The only difference between what happened in Drakken's lair and what happened to my parents is that she had a choice, and I didn't. I think about that for a minute. "Kim... can I ask you something?" I say, breaking the silence. "Be honest." She puts her chin on her knee, watching me expectantly, and I take that as my cue to continue. "Do you remember when Drakken stole the Hephaestus Project from your dad, that we went to get him?" She nods, and Dr. P watches us intently. "I was surrounded by syntho-henchmen and your dad was about to get fed to that giant mutant octopus thing." She nods again, and her eyes narrow infinitesimally. She wants to know where I'm going with this, now. Always the patient one, Kimmie.

I focus back on the conversation. "The line was lowering your dad into the... tank, but I yelled. What did you do?"

Her eyes widen. "I-I destroyed the drones..."

"And your dad?"

She starts to back away from me, shaking her head. "I knew I could save him! But you... I-I had to stop them from hurting you..." her breath starts to come short, and I try really hard not to sound confrontational.

"Say it, Kimmie."

She shakes her head and tears pour down her face again. "No!"

I take her hands, which are trembling. She tries to pull away, but I keep hold of them, rubbing circles on them gently. "You didn't know you could save him, did you?"

She glares. "I can do anything."

"You can't have it both ways, KP baby, " I let her know with a touch of sarcasm in my tone. "Either you risked your own father's life for mine, or you could have made it back from Norway in time to save my parents and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"There are always risks," she protests, her voice rising. "I knew dad would be okay!"

"But you didn't know."

"I had to stop the... they would have hurt you, and I wouldn't have been able to fight them and save dad alone."

"You just said you can do anything."

"Stop it!" She finally screams, breaking down. "I did what I had to do!"

"You were willing to sacrifice your dad for me," I say quietly.

"I can't... lose you." Her entire frame is trembling. Out of the corner of my eye I see her mom's jaw somewhere around her toes. Her dad's face is as if he looked death in the eye. In retrospect, he probably did.

"I saw you, KP. You looked at him, and you looked at me, and you jumped in and blocked a hit from one of those robot guys. You took them all out in the time it takes to say 'boo yah' and you didn't even blink when your dad went under. You _risked_ your family. For me. Willingly."

After that it's easier to convince her that it's not her fault, even though the expression on her face reads 'I hate you and your stupid logic'. Finally, she concedes the point. "But it doesn't change the fact that your parents are dead," she says. Her voice is flat.

I give her that. "No, it doesn't. It isn't supposed to," I say sadly. "Nothing we could have done then... or can do now... will change it."

He shoulders sag. "Then... what happens next?" she whispers, and her eyes pool again.

I sigh. "I don't know, Kim. I don't know."

A tear spills over, splashing onto her lap. I pull her to me as she cries, and my own eyes burn. We sit, clinging to each other, for a long time. Eventually she scoots closer, wrapping her legs around my waist and leaning her head on my chest. She seems calm soon after that, and I realize she's listening to my heart beat. I hold her a minute more before pulling away. Her eyes sear into mine, and I have to swallow hard. Her lips attack mine, her tongue begging for access to my mouth. Her hands tangle in my hair. Her body molds to mine and a whimper escapes her lips. The relief I feel is like... like I've been holding my breath all day. God I missed kissing her.

Someone clears their throat and suddenly Kim buries her face in my chest. Then I remember her parents are in the room, and they probably just watched us make out.

Well, that's embarrassing.

* * *

Waking up like this is so awesome it could be illegal, I muse to myself as I watch Kim slip out of bed and into the bathroom. Her hair is loose, and the fact that it looks like a haystack has _nothing_ to do with how well she slept last night. She and I _conserve_ _water_, and then she breaks out the blow dryer and flat iron. I shake my head. In high school she always toweled her hair dry. For some reason by the time I moved in at USC she was taking three hours in the bathroom for her hair and makeup. She says it makes her look more mature or whatever. I dunno, but now when it's wet it curls and it's sexy. I let her know that, and maybe I pout a little, and she graciously agrees to gel her hair instead of straightening it. She gets dressed and heads downstairs, landing a light smack on my butt as she walks by. I smirk. Am I the man or what?

Breakfast with the Possibles is a continuation of last night's awkward moment. I decide to do breakfast, since Kim's mom has so much stuff backed up from when she was gone from the hospital. I also hope it will take the edge off the awkward vibe. It doesn't. Kim, being the usual sunny person she is in the morning, bounces into the kitchen and thanks me... _properly..._ for breakfast after kissing her parents' cheeks and digs in to her waffle and fruit. Mrs. P shakes her head and Dr. P looks green.

I have to meet with some people today, namely the person in charge of the... wills. This sucks. KP volunteers to stay with Han, but the Tweebs want to take her to the park, so she comes with me.

We get to the guy's office, and I recognize the name on the door. He was a friend of my dad's, a lawyer. His name is Dr. Morgan Green. KP chuckles when she sees it. "What?"

"His name. Morgan Green?"

"What about it?"

"Um... lets just say it has to do with a nasty medical condition you should avoid at all costs."

I just shrug. Whatever. We walk into the office and his receptionist looks up brightly. "Hi, how can I help you?"

She's too chipper, I think to myself. It seems like Kim agrees, because she's fuming. I guess I missed the flirting again, I muse as KP puts her left hand down on the counter, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"My _fiancee_ and I are here to see Dr. Green," she says, her voice falsely polite. "We're here to discuss the—"

"Ah, yes," the now flustered and pissed off receptionist interrupts, "He's been expecting you. Right this way," she grates out.

I shoot KP a look telling her not to harm the poor girl, and put my arm around her waist. I rub the skin of her hip with my thumb and she gives a satisfied smirk at the infuriated receptionist before kissing my cheek. I can feel the stickiness of her lipstick still there, and I smirk at her. Possessive much?

I'm relieved we made it to his office without any police reports having to be filed. Dr. Green stands and shakes my hand. His eyes flicker over Kim's body before he reaches for her hand, bringing it to his lips. Sleazy asshole. I clear my throat when she gets uncomfortable and he still hasn't let go of her hand. Seriously, the Doctor in Law is going to need a Doctor in Middleton Medical Center if he doesn't get his sleazy paws OFF my girl. I'll personally make sure his hands need surgery for months and he's going to be blind FOREVER if his eyes keep wandering. Ugh, as if KP would ever go for a dude that could be her dad and is bald. Cue gag.

Kim finally gets her hand back and I can tell she's really embarrassed. I go to sit down across from his desk, but she tells me she wants to sit with me, so I guide her to the leather couch to the side of the small office. She sits and I sit as close to her as I can, putting my arm around her shoulders. Her left hand rests in my lap and I wind my fingers through hers, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Dr. Green sees her ring and shifts uncomfortably. "You're here about your parents' will, correct?"

"Yes," I say darkly, "and I'd appreciate it if we got to business and you kept your sleazy wandering eyes and paws _off_ my girlfriend. Got it?"

He shifts again. I guess I don't blame him, though. Kim looks positively sinful in her low rise black jeans and white sleeveless, collared blouse over which she's wearing a black halter-top vest. Too bad she's sinful _for my eyes only!_ Fucker.

Kim stares at our hands, and I kiss her temple again, whispering an apology in her ear. She smiles softly but continues to study our hands.

The meeting goes well, but I have to drive home because KP's eyes are the size of golf balls and her jaw is still somewhere near her baby toe. I have to laugh. "Why are you so surprised? How did you think my mom could swing being a housewife while my dad paid that mortgage on an actuary's salary? Really, KP, do some critical thinking."

"Yeah well when I hear things like that I normally think money laundering and tax evasion. You'll forgive me if I don't peg your parents for criminals."

I chuckle. "They lived off their investments."

"Yeah well my problem is that this is past tense now." Her hand rests at her throat. "Did she really... I mean, she wanted me to have..."

"Yes, KP, and you aren't allowed to say no." I can't help my grin when I remember the look on her face as the sleazy lawyer told KP that mom left her some jewelry, which last time it was appraised was worth the tuition of her entire college career. And it wasn't even all of it. The other stuff, wedding stuff and family heirlooms or whatever are going in a safety deposit box for Han. I have to snicker again when I remember KP literally choking when she heard the amount of cash set aside in a CD for her by my dad.

She's still reeling from all this and I don't blame her. I still take the opportunity to poke some fun, since she's too subdued to be irked. "You should get your folks to read you their will sometime."

"Maybe I will," she grumbles to herself. "You knew about all this?"

"Well I've heard them talk about it... About you and Han anyway. I knew about the investments and stuff, but I really didn't know much about the details until today."

We head to my house and the day gets more depressing. There's someone here to appraise the house in case I want to sell it. He walks through my house, making comments about the crown molding, Han's room, the carpet and the furniture mom and I handpicked for her, saying that everything was well maintained... as if it were something in a museum for him to study clinically, and not the home where my deceased parents raised me. Kim keeps a vice grip on my hand, knowing that I'm beyond pissed at his attitude.

"This attic suite is excellent. Separate bathroom and living space. It could be made a studio for extra income. However I feel that the place lacks a certain-"

"This is Ron's room." Superficially, Kim's tone is conversational, but I can tell she's ready to spit nails. "He grew up in this house. This place was built for him so that his sister could have the room downstairs... by his parents, who just _died!_ You can stop being so picky and smug and damn condescending or you can get the fuck out."

He looks shocked. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. Be tactful or be gone."

"How dare you speak to me that way?! Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care who you are," she says in irritation. Her hands clench at her sides. "I care that you are not here to dissect the tastes of the people who lived here, you are here to tell us what the house is worth."

"Actually," I say quietly before he can snap a response, "I'm not selling the house. Thanks for your time, but you can leave."

He looks pissed. "But the money you could..."

"Money isn't an issue for me right now, no thanks to my parents being _dead_ or did you miss that part? There is nothing to evaluate here because there is nothing for sale. Please leave."

KP puts her fist on her hip, her expression deadly.

The man mutters under his breath but leaves, and I collapse onto my bed. "I can't do this anymore," I tell her, burying my face in my hands.

Her fingers grip my wrists, and her face appears inches from mine. Her eyes seem so sad, and it makes me sort of angry. "Don't KP. I don't need pity, least of all from you."

"I don't... _pity_ you, Ron. You've been my better half for as long as I can remember. You've been my best friend, my lover... I hate to see you in so much pain. It's _killing _me! Okay?"

I blow a shaky breath through my teeth. "I'm sorry... I know, I'm just tired. And that stupid prick picking apart my life like it was nothing-"

"Yeah I know. He was pissing me off too."

"I noticed," I tell her, and she flexes her right hand. I hear a knuckle pop and I cringe. Good thing the guy shut up and left, or he'd still be tasting her fist.

She gives me a 'Kim Possible is in the building' smirk. Then she gets serious. "How are you really?"

I shrug and she seems to understand. "The funeral is tomorrow."

"Yeah... I put something together for it... it's been a really long time, but I think... I need to do it. Josh is going to help me." She sounds a bit anxious.

"Kim I... thanks."

She hugs me. "You don't have to thank me," she says in my ear, and I squeeze her closer. "I love you. You don't have to thank me for loving you." She lets me go and looks into my eyes, her soft hands framing my face. "Are you sure you want to do this today? You don't want to wait?"

I sigh, kissing her lips and standing, setting her on her feet. "I want to... you know, keep as much of it as... you know, normal as possible... for Han, you know?" She nods, a sad understanding smile crossing her face. Just as quickly as it appeared, it's gone. I move her hand from my face, pressing it briefly to my lips before squeezing it. "I'm okay," I tell her. "There's all this stuff... clothes and things... that really won't be of any use. You could see the stuff mom left you and... I don't know. I just need to get it over with."

She nods, drawing a shaky breath. "Okay then, let's get started."

* * *

Seven hours and a thousand tears later, we have all of my parents stuff sorted out into things I'm keeping, things that can be donated or sold, and things that can be thrown away. The last pile is the smallest.

Kim looks exhausted, and I know this has been hard for her too. There are tons of videos and pictures we've gone through and she smiles and cries over all of them, silently. We don't talk much throughout the day, and even the brief breaks we take are spend on the couch, quietly wrapped around each other, drawing strength from each other.

We are too exhausted to go back to Kim's house, and she phones home to let her parents know that we are staying here and that we'll see them in the morning. Her mom shushes her dad before telling us that Hana is already down for the night, and to rest well. She slips into bed next to me a few minutes later, turning off the lights and curling up in my arms. She's asleep almost instantly, her soft even breath still smelling like the mint from her toothpaste. Her face is troubled, and she turns restlessly. A wrinkle appears between her eyebrows and after a few minutes of tossing and turning, she gasps, bolting upright.

"Kimmie?" I reach up to rub her back, but she flinches. Her breath is coming in gasping sobs and I try my best to calm her. "KP baby talk to me." She shakes her head, still stiffening at my touch. I can't deny that that stings, but I don't let her go anyway. "KP, tell me about your dream."

She lets out a humorless chuckle. "Nightmare about the plane crash." She switches on the light and sits on the edge of the bed, pressing her forearm to her side. She wipes her face with the back of her hand and draws a breath to calm herself down. Her forearm presses closer to her side.

"Does it hurt?" It's a stupid question but I ask anyway. I feel sort of useless.

She shakes her head. "It's no big. I'll take something for it." She sighs. "How many times have we dealt with exploding buildings, planes, and God knows what else...? I mean, why is this time different? Why am I having bad dreams about it now, and after so long?"

"I don't know the answer to that, Kim. Maybe it has to do with all the stuff that's happened since."

Another humorless chuckle, "So much for the best summer ever."

I shrug. "It could be worse. We could be dealing with all this during the school year."

"I'm sorry, Ron."

"For... what?"

"I don't know... for everything."

"KP your plane fell out of the sky. That's hardly your fault."

She shrugs. "I'm not so sure. In my dream I was... it was happening over again except... I saw the explosion. And it wasn't just an explosion. It was some kind of projectile that damaged the engine."

"Again, hardly your fault. Besides, you were dreaming. You can't know that that really happened."

She shakes her head, reaching for her Kimmunicator. "Wade?"

"I was having a nice dream, you know."

"That makes one of us," she grouses. "I need you to hack into the NTSB and find all the files on the plane crash."

"Sure, I'll do it. Tomorrow."

"No, now."

He glares and scrubs the sleep from his eyes before typing a series of commands. "I'm in. they have most of the plane parts put back together. It looks like they're investigating some kind of anomaly."

"Does it say what?"

"No. Just says that all of the theories they have on why the engine exploded don't check out when they run the simulations."

"I have a theory. Can you run it?"

"Sure but make it quick, they're on to the hack."

She gives him a look and his eyes widen.

"You think someone crashed your plane?"

"A projectile could have made the engine explode."

He types more commands, and a few minutes later, he leans back in satisfaction. "The report is complete, courtesy of yours truly. Complete with the calculated trajectory of the object used to crash the plane. Your copy is in your email. Can I sleep now?"

"Yes, Wade. Thank you."

* * *

**the funeral is tomorrow... **

**okay, so i realize that this story is getting a bit angsty. well, angst happens when your parents die. if any of you have ever lost a parent or other loved one, you already know that this process sucks ass. there's no way around it. so bear with me... things are gunna get pretty suckish for Ron and KP but they'll get their HEA i promise.**

**also, note that this author's note is at the end, not at the beginning of the chapter. i sort of didn't want to interrupt the continuity of the chapters. also, there's no quote for this chapter, partly for the same reason, and partly because the important part of this already happened in the last chapter (until right there in the end when Kim realizes that her 'accident' was no accident either). this is sort of filler-ish, so pretend that Tuesday's quote is up there for today too.**

**this leads me to my other point: Monkey Fist is being a psychotic pain in the tush, but as my new pal Levi kindly pointed out to me in his review reply (read his story it's awesome, his user name is levi2000a1 and his story is called Broken Hearts, Broken Minds) there are no real heroes without real adversity. this adversity will never be more personal or more real for Ron and KP than it's about to be. and Ron is going to lose his marbles a bit too, so things will even out. so yeah, this sort of marks the end of a segment in the story, more or less. **

******in any case thank you for reading, and i hope that y'all drop me a review, those things are like crack for me. see ya next week.**

******toodles,**

******~temporary insanity.**


	12. Memory

**Sorry this took so long to post... been ironing out some deets with my super-beta Sentinel. Now it is time to get on with the show, so here ya go. Hopefully we can get back on schedule soon.**

* * *

"_Touch me! It's so easy to leave me all alone with the memory of my days in the sun..."_

_~Memory, from Cats_

* * *

Josh Mankey, dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt under a black suit jacket, pulls up a stool, guitar in hand. Kim helps him adjust the microphone before grabbing one herself. She looks beautiful in a knee-length black dress with three-quarter sleeves, and a collar that gives way to a low, but not obscene neckline. She has her hair straight today, and it falls in her face as she bows her head, waiting for Josh to speak. What I can't believe is that she's _singing_. She _never_ sings in public! Which is really too bad, because her voice is spectacular.

Josh sighs into the microphone. "Hi... everyone. Very little people know this but... I moved here when I was in fifth grade from California. My family, um..." He clears his throat. "Well, when we moved here Ron's parents were the ones that helped us out, and Yvonne was with us all the time when my mom got cancer when I was twelve. I-I... I miss her, but I know she's okay now. She's gonna show Yvonne and Dan the ropes, okay?"

That earns a tearful chuckle from Kim, and I smile too. I guess it's nice that they'll have a friend wherever they're going. I never thought that people went anywhere after they died. I always thought that once you died you were dead, and that was it. But I guess now it's less depressing to think my parents are off bouncing on clouds with Josh's mom than thinking they're going in a hole in the ground.

KP sniffs, wiping her eyes. "They... always had such a big heart. This song is for them."

Josh starts strumming a gentle, peaceful but melancholic tune. His tenor voice is shaky, adding to the vulnerability of the song. Tears spring to my eyes as I realize that this song was sung at _his_ mother's funeral. _"There's no one in town I know. You gave us some place to go. I never said thank you for that, I thought I might get one more chance."_

"_So what would you think of me now, so lucky, so strong, so proud?"_

I have the privilege of hearing her sing to Han, or in the shower, or whatever, so I'm not surprised by how amazing she sounds. The rest of the crowd falls silent.

"_I never said thank you for that... now I'll never have a chance. May angels lead you in. Hear you me, my friends: on sleepless roads the sleepless go. May angels lead you in."_

Kim's mom wipes her eyes, and I catch her dad try to play off a tear too as Josh does a guitar solo, plucking the melody of the song with sweet precision before he and Kim sing the chorus again. Their voices play off each other, the notes crossing and dancing. It ends quietly, and Kim hugs Josh after its over. He rubs her back and releases her. His eyes are red when he looks at her. I guess they got to be good friends after they stopped dating in sophomore year.

Eulogies, speeches... I feel like this is never going to end. Somewhere between all the crying and the talking, Kim speaks, and I tune her in. She talks about growing up with me, with _them,_ and I stare at the now blurry mahogany caskets. They are closed, I figured no one else needed to see exactly how they died. Kim's voice shakes with unshed tears, and I wish I had the energy to get up and go to her. I don't. Instead, my tears spill from my own eyes, blurring my vision over and over again as they gather. After a while I stop noticing them, and an icy chill takes over my body. The numbness is back, and I'm glad.

The next time I'm aware of what's happening, Josh is playing another quiet solo, and then Kim's singing, her voice so quiet it's barely a whisper. _"Now all that's left... pictures on the walls, memories and stories that are told. The more often told, the bigger they get. Create a legacy, lest we forget.. Goodbye, goodbye. Walk away it's hard to say..."_

Well that's depressing. I put my face in my hands, praying that the numbness doesn't go away at the sound of her voice, which has once again reduced everyone here to tears.

"_Something woke me up in the midst of dream and fantasy, half way there. But He always fills my cup, and he lifts me up...oh, how He lifts me up... goodbye, goodbye. Walk away it's hard to say..."_ Josh stops strumming and Kim's voice shakes as she barely whispers the closing lines. "_I never took the time to stop and realize that death takes many forms... even while alive..."_

That last line feels about as comfortable in my stomach as a cinderblock would.

The crowd is slowly thinning out, probably headed to the Possible house for the... I don't even know what you would call it. Reception? After party? Receptions are for weddings, not funerals. And after party implies that there's actually something to celebrate. So I pick c, none of the above. I'll just stand here and stare at the holes in the ground where they just left my parents.

Rude. Really _fucking_ rude. Yeah, cry a bit, say a few words, then put em in a hole and leave em there. I can't believe I'm expected to just leave and go entertain a whole bunch of people who want to drink and scroll through their smart phones while I'm dying inside.

Like I said, rude.

"Ron, a-are you coming?" Her voice is raw, and part of my brain realizes that she's physically and emotionally drained.

"I don't want to," I tell her honestly, "I don't want to leave them here."

"Ron, we can't stay in the cemetery," she says quietly. I turn to her, surprised to see her face shine again with tears. I'm impressed with how well she controlled her voice, but I understand why. Hana is settled on her hip, sound asleep. She took off her shoes, and they are dangling from her fingers, leaving her feet bare in the cool grass. Her hair looks like she's run her fingers through it a whole lot, and her entire frame is weighed down by fatigue. I reach for her, kissing her forehead and taking my sister from her arms. She sighs quietly in relief and Han snuggles into me. I feel bad that I've left her standing around with Han while I've been in my own head. She squeezes my hand. "I understand."

When we get to the house, everyone crowds around me like I'm a celebrity, offering their condolences. I smile and nod and try not to be irritated, reaching my limit when someone receives a text message about their business and runs out in the middle of their conversation with me.

I hope there's legit alcohol in this house. KP's still going with sparkling grape juice, but I know that if I don't get seriously wasted over the course of the evening, I'm going to rip someone apart with my bare hands and probably throw their stupid expensive cell phone into the fire place.

Kim disappears upstairs with Han at some point, returning a while later with a tired smile on her face. She does her best to be polite, but I can tell she's getting uncomfortable and I go to rescue her, telling her that Mrs. P is going to call it a night soon and to draw herself a bath.

"Ron, I want to be here if you need me."

"Kim you're exhausted. I'm okay for now, your mom's looking out for me. Go on, I know those shoes are making your feet ten shades of red and painful."

"Are you sure?"

I nod at her, brushing her hair out of her face. "I'm okay, I promise. I'll be better if I know you're resting."

She gives a tentative half-smile. "I love you." She pads up the stairs, and I go in search of my first of many, many drinks.

The doorbell rings.

**KPOV**

He says he's okay, but I'm not so sure. That feeling in the pit of my stomach is back, telling me that something is very very wrong. Since this morning when we got up, I knew he was losing it, and not the way Ron normally loses it either. It seems that now he's the unemotional one and I'm the one that wants to just run away and pretend this never happened. He got dressed in silence, and a limousine pulls into the driveway for him. He insists that I go with him, and I ride with him , Hana, and the few aunts and uncles who are here. They are irritating to no end, but he seems unaffected.

I see the tears spill from his eyes several times during the service, but he doesn't _really_ cry. He has spent all day acting something like a zombie. It's terrifying. Hana picked up on it too, and she clung to me, crying when I got tired of holding her and had to put her down. She kept asking me why her Ronnie is so scary, and I didn't have an answer. I sang her to sleep and went back to Ron, but he said he's okay.

Now I'm sitting in the tub, up to my chin in hot water, listening to everything wind down, and wondering what he's doing.

The doorbell rings.

The heat is doing nothing to reduce the tension in my body. I'm getting pruny and I'm ready to go to bed. I get up and shower, washing my hair and rinsing all the suds off my body. When I pull back the shower curtain, he's there.

"Kimmie," he slurs, and I know he's drunk. Oh Jesus, he's drunk. He's only ever been drunk once, at a party in one of the frat houses at school. He swore it off after that, but now he's completely smashed, worse than last year's party. He reaches for me, pulling me into his arms and not caring that I'm still soaked from the shower. His hands are everywhere, and his lips are everywhere, and I can't bring myself to stop him.

* * *

I wake up with a start, running my hands through my hair and trying to calm down. I was dreaming. It was just a dream... it felt so real...

"_I can't stay here. I'll ruin you, I'll ruin my sister. I'm sorry." I can feel the deep sadness and rage inside him. "I know that when you realize what I've done, and what I'm going to do, you're going to hate me, so goodbye. I hope you...I have to do this. For my parents, and for your safety. I-I'll always love you, Kimmie." He disappears into the darkness, leaving me paralyzed and mute with fear._

I reach for the clock on the night stand, reading the time. It's 4:30 in the—what the heck? I yank my hand back, studying it. I... don't understand. I fell asleep with it on, didn't I? Where is my ring? Actually, where's Ron? "Ron!" I hiss into the dark. The bathroom light is on, and I slip out of bed, putting my robe on as I tiptoe towards it. "Ron, are you okay?" I tap on the door and try the knob. It's unlocked, and I peek in at first. There's no one in the bathroom, I realize as I open it wider. I flip on the lights, going towards the dresser where the pajamas normally are (I guess I didn't end up needing them... cue blush) and slide open the drawer. It slips open too easily, as if it were significantly lighter than usual. I grab my pj's and scramble into them as part of my mind notes that the drawer is now completely empty. I can feel the panic rising in my chest. He was here, he should be here. Where is he?

I run down the stairs, checking the den, the guest room where Han sleeps... the living room... oh god, he's not here. The panic is choking me now, and I run back upstairs, tearing through all the drawers and the closet. All his clothes... his things, Rufus's stuff... gone. Oh God, he actually left.

I sink to the floor by the bed, my head in my hands. "Maybe he just didn't want to be here... maybe he went home to his house." I nod to myself, trying to be convincing, but reality makes it sound hollow, even as I speak it out loud.

When I reach up onto the night stand to push myself to my feet, a white note card flutters into my lap. I pick it up and flip it over to discover Ron's messy scrawl. _Don't look for me. I'm not coming back. Take care of Hana, tell her I love her._

I sigh, finally allowing the tears to fall. The ground has officially fallen out from beneath me, and I'm falling. He left, and he won't be here to catch me.

* * *

The morning finds me staring blankly into a cup of coffee. I've long since stopped crying, and an icy numbness has taken over me. I don't know how long I've been staring into the brown liquid, but the vapor and warm, rich scent coming from it fades, eventually disappearing all together.

"Kimmie? You're up early, honey."

I just stare into my coffee.

"Kimmie, what's wrong, honey?"

A tiny hand reaches for mine, and brown eyes meet mine. "Kimmie, what's wrong wif yew? Will yew take me to da park today?"

I do my best to smile at her. "Yeah, and ice cream too. I have something I need to tell you. But first, I need to talk to Auntie Annie okay?"

"Okay," she whispers, her eyes wide with concern. Her small fingers squeeze gently. "I lub yew Kimmie."

"I love you too, baby girl," I whisper, trying hard to keep tears out of my voice. Dear God, what am I going to do with Han? I watch her walk away and panic rises in my chest again.

"Kimmie honey you're scaring me sweetheart. Please talk to me."

I raise my chin and place my hands flat on the table. She watches me suspiciously, and then understanding dawns on her face, alongside mild horror. "The wedding is off," I state unnecessarily. My voice sounds hollow and unemotional, even in my own ears.

She sits down across from me. "Where is Ron?" I show her the note and put my hands back on my lap. She reads it and sighs. "What have you done?" She says to no one. She kisses my head and takes my cold coffee, replacing it with a fresh cup. She squeezes my shoulder before pouring a cup for Dad. I decide to not face him right now, opting instead to get Han ready for the park. Mom gives me a disapproving look, but she lets me go anyway.

Han wants to pick her clothes today, and I have to laugh as she excitedly reaches for her favorite pink sleeveless shirt and white pants which I subtly steer her away from. I do not want to wash dirt and grass out of those pants. She chooses these cute little black and pink shorts instead, and I brush her long, straight, black hair into a pony tail before setting her up with cartoons while I shower and get dressed in my basic jeans and a light green sleeveless top. I don't bother to straighten my hair, I tie it up in a messy bun instead. Han is glad for the release of tension and practically skips to the car.

She plays at the park for a while and I just sit, lost in my own thoughts. Part of me really isn't processing what happened, and I still feel numb and disbelieving. I mean, who could believe it? If someone said, "Your best friend for as long as you can remember, turned sidekick, turned fiancee, is going to ditch you and call off your wedding" what would you say? 'Yeah, right?' Well, I would have said that too, except that actually happened to me. And he left me with his sister! The kid is barely four years old and she's had to bury her parents _twice_. A person would think the only family she has left would at least take her with him... but I guess not. Selfish bastard.

"What's wrong?"

I look up, wondering who is disturbing my inner monologue. Gray-blue-green eyes meet mine, and I smile. I was madly in love with those eyes when I was a sophomore in high school. They had the power to melt my brain and make me incoherent and clumsy. We dated for a while, but it became clear that the romantic feelings had gone cold. It was awkward, and we grew apart, but over time we healed, and a deep friendship blossomed. Those eyes belong to Joshua Wendell Mankey, and they are staring at me with concern.

I stare at my hands again and realize that they are wet. I hadn't realized I was crying. Another tear spills from my eye and I watch it splat unceremoniously.

"Kim, it's me. Tell me what happened."

I sigh. "Ever since the car crash Ron has been... so angry, and withdrawn, and depressed..."

"His parents _died, _Kim. That is to be expected."

"He packed up his shit and left. Called off the engagement, disappeared into thin air, and left me here with his _sister_."

"Oh..."

I let out a weird half-sniffle, half-snort. "Yeah."

"Kim, I'm so sorry, I..."

I shake my head. "It's... it's okay, I think. Right now I don't think it's even fully hit me."

"Any idea where he went?"

Another half-snort. "If I did you know I would have dragged him back by his hair and kicked his ass for doing this to me."

He puts an arm around me, hugging me to him. "You're gonna be okay, you know."

I smile up at him. "I know."

Hana skips over to me, handing me a dandelion. "Kimmie! I getted yew a flower!"

I take it and twirl it briefly before Josh takes it and puts it in my hair. Han giggles and skips off again. I stare at my hands again. "I haven't told her that Ron's gone yet," I say quietly. "How do I... I mean, how do you tell a three-year-old that the only family she had left abandoned her?"

"You don't."

"What...? Josh, how long do you think I'll be able to hold off her questions-"

"You don't have to tell her she has no family. _You're_ her family now."

"You really think I can raise a kid... myself? At twenty-one? Not even, I'm not even twenty-one yet."

"People have more kids younger. And you're Kim muh-fuckin' Possible, you can do anything."

I kiss his cheek, standing. I wipe my face with the back of my hand. "Thank you."

He stands and hugs me. "Any time, Kim. Anytime, for anything..." he smirks and leans in. "Just call me or beep me. You know. If you wanna reach me," he says into my ear, winking before sauntering down the path. Smug bastard.

I get Han and we make our way back to the car. I head for Mr. Fudgies. I guess it's truth time.

* * *

Hana sits across from me in the booth, happily licking at her ice cream, oblivious to everything that's happening... or so I thought. "Kimmie?"

"Yeah?"

"How come Wonnie didn't come? I wanted to play wif him at da park! Where he goed?"

I sigh, staring at my hands for the umpteenth time. Taking a deep breath, I move into the seat next to hers, looking her right in the eye. "Hana... honey, Ronnie had to go."

"Where?" her lip quivers.

I pull her into my arms, ignoring the stickiness on her hands and face. "I don't know, Hana."

"Did he go where mommy an' daddy goed?"

"No!" I almost yell, squeezing her tighter.

"But-but—he's coming back, wight?"

I don't answer, and she starts to cry. My own eyes burn, but I don't allow the tears to fall.

"Kimmie where am I gunna go?" Her voice is so small and vulnerable, and my heart breaks for her.

"You're going to stay with me, honey," I say into her hair. "I'll never leave you, I'll never let you go. I promise." I pull away from small, trembling frame to look at her. "I swear," I tell her, looking her in the eye, "No matter what, I'll be with you. No matter where you are, I'll come get you. No matter what you need, I'll help you."

"Pwomise?" She sniffs. "Pwomise yew no go away?"

"I promise." I pull her into my arms again, rocking her back and forth. "I love you," I whisper into her hair. She clings to me harder, wrapping her little legs around my waist to squeeze me closer. I hold her as close as I can, feeling the last piece of my resolve slip into place. I _can_ and I _will_ keep Han. I _can_ and I _will_ raise her, and I _can_ and I _will_ protect her. I am her family now, and I will make sure she has everything she needs. I can do this. I _have_ to.

* * *

I travel back to USC with Han for a couple of weeks because I need to find a daycare for her while I'm in school and I need to make the apartment kid-proof. I also empty out the office space to turn it into Han's room. I filed for legal custody of Han, and two weeks ago I got the go ahead. They said that since Ron's note specifically leaves her in my care, and that since his parents died and no one else could speak for her, it was in her best interest for her to stay with me. I hugged her and kissed her when they told me that, and I walked out of the family courtroom with her on my hip and high spirits for the first time in a while.

Now I'm here, watching the progress in the room. I got Josh to come help me, and he did a beautiful abstract mural of flowers. White lilies and darker pink hibiscus and lotus flowers dance whimsically on the walls amidst swirls of light pink and purple. He explains that when I asked him to help, he researched what to do for her, googling the meanings for a bunch of flowers. Hibiscus in Japan signifies gentleness, and lotus flowers are something about love from a distance. Traditionally, Hibiscus represent beauty. He put up the lilies in memory of her parents, and the Lotus flowers in memory of Ron. The Hibiscus, beautiful and gentle, represent her.

I feel myself tear up at the thought he put into all of this.

He hugs me briefly. "She's worth it," he says simply. He signs the corner of the wall with a black sharpie before turning to the boxes of furniture that have to be put together.

It takes a few days, but Han's room for the school year is complete. A white bookcase stands against one wall. Several pictures of her with her family and with me are the background of flowy, funky shaped shelves where some of her favorite trinkets (including the doll Ron got her at JP Bearymore's) sit decoratively. Her bed, also white, stands in the corner with pink bedding that she loves. A white chest full of toys is in the opposite corner, along with a tiny sitting area. Her dressers are set up and her closet is fully organized.

We hit the Lounge to celebrate and Han immediately loves the place. Hanging out with Josh is... relaxing. I hadn't realized how much I had missed him. He keeps the atmosphere light, constantly joking or playing with Han, making me laugh or roll my eyes at his ridiculousness. I'm grateful for his distractions, because if it weren't for him I would probably be lost in my own lonely thoughts. Since I've been staying with Han in _our_ room, it never escaped my notice that all of his things are gone from here as well. I wish I could hate him for leaving me, but I guess I'm not at that stage yet.

Josh squeezes my hand. "Hey," he says gently, "Come back."

"Huh?" I stare at him blankly.

He shakes his head. "Look, I know you've been through more _sitches_ in the past few years than most people will encounter in their entire lives. But you can't let _him_ get you down. You can't let this keep you from living your life, because now Hana's life depends on you too."

I stare at our joined hands. "I hope... you _never_ know what this is like, Josh. We were best friends since... forever. I always loved him, you know. I always just... expected him to be in my life forever. It feels like... it feels like half of me is gone. I mean, he's such a part of who I am... before I was _the_ Kim Possible, I was Ron's best friend. Before I was the cheerleader, I was Ron's best friend. Before I was... anything... I was _his_. Before he was my boyfriend, he was my best friend, my sidekick... my partner in anti-crime... my whole world. Literally, my whole world. Now all of that is gone and I feel like... I went on a spacewalk and the tether snapped, leaving me lost in space, to my eternal doom. Do you know what I mean?"

He smiles sadly. "I know, Kim. And God, I wish this weren't happening to you, I really do. But people will always come and go in life, you know. It hurts when people you care about leave you, but you have to move past it and get on with the part of your life that you do know. That's how you'll get to heal, rebuild the damage, you know? Right now, the hand you've been dealt is school and taking care of a kid on your own. You _know_ that I'll be here if you need me. You _know_ that Monique, or your parents... or anyone you call on will want to help you. You might not have him anymore, but you've got _us_, and we are not leaving. For now that has to be enough. For Hana's sake."

I swallow hard, trying to keep the tears from falling. "Thank you," I whisper, and he squeezes my hand again.

Hana puts down her fork and crawls over to me. "No cwy, Kimmie. I lub yew."

I hug squeeze her to me. The smell of candy and innocence surrounds me, and I smile into her hair. "I love you too, Hana Banana. Always, always, always."


	13. It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

**welcome back guys! i figured you all could use a break from the intense emotions in this fic right now... i put out a couple one-shots last week, hope you all enjoyed them... they are sorta fluffy and less intense. thanks for all your follows, reviews, views, etc. on both the one shots and this story. there are a couple of you that have reviewed that have PMs disabled, so you get shout outs here instead yay!**

**KPlaila, you've reviewed a couple of my things... thank you for your raves lol i always smile when i read them.**

**mrshcullark, these chapters have been rather emotional, but i'm glad you've liked them. i promise Ron and KP will have a happy ending though.**

**i feel like i'm missing someone, but in any case, thanks. **

**here's your next couple chapters. i briefly proof-read them, but they aren't beta-ed, so forgive any mistakes. edited versions will replace these at some point. thanks again for your support,**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_I thought we'd get to see forever  
But forever's gone away..._

_I don't know where this road is going to lead  
All I know is where we've been  
And what we've been through_

___It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday..._

~It's So Hard to Say Goodbye, Boyz II Men

* * *

School is hard. I have to work my schedule around Han's preschool, and cheerleading becomes more of a hassle than an enjoyable extracurricular. I'm constantly tired, and it becomes more and more difficult to keep up with our routines. I get sick a lot these days, too. I also have to work in order to keep the apartment. Unfortunately that means I get to spend little actual time with Han, and she's been acting out a lot in school. It's been three months since Ron left, and Han still wakes up screaming from nightmares of abandonment and kidnapping. She ends up in my room more often than not, and I always end up singing to her until she falls asleep. Some days I don't have the heart to tuck her back in her own bed, and she sleeps curled up against me. Some days I don't tuck her back in her own bed because she keeps _my_ nightmares away as much as I keep hers away.

This morning she's throwing a tantrum. Not unusual, but I'm late for work, and I don't have time.

"I don't wanna go to schooooooooolll!" Han wails and stomps little foot.

"Hana, baby, I don't have time for this today. Please get your things so that we can go. _Now._"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"Hana," I give her my _the_ look, "I will not tell you again to get your things."

"I'm not going to school! It's boring and they are mean!"

"You are going to school, Hana Kaori, and that is final."

She stomps and puffs and cries, but she follows me to the car and lets me buckle her in. When we get there she's crying again. "I don't wanna," she cries. Her expression is heartbreaking. I guess she learned all about my traditional puppy-dog pout.

I squat down so that I'm eye level with her. "Hana... I love you so much. I promised you I wasn't going to leave you, and I'm going to keep my promise. But in order to keep being with you, there are things that I have to do, and that means you have to be in school."

She sniffs. "Like... workin'?"

"Yes, baby, like working."

"You will come back for me?"

"Always."

"Always always?"

I smile, kissing her forehead. "Always always."

She pouts again. "But... I don't wanna go because they are mean!"

I sigh. Today is going to be a long day.

* * *

Wade pages me in the middle of my ethics class.

"Hey, Wade," I pant after sprinting out of the auditorium, "I'm in... can the sitch sit?"

"Sorry, Kim. It's urmm... Han. Again."

I swallow hard, forcing my mild... not so mild... anxiety away. "Is she okay? What happened?" I'm already collecting my things from the ground where I dropped them.

"She's fine, Kim. I have a voicemail for you from the principal of the school. They've got Han in the discipline-"

"I'm on it. Tell them I'm on my way."

"Okay."

"Hey Wade... thanks."

"No problem, Kim. Can I make a suggestion?" He switches from my Kimmunicator into the screen on my car as I start it.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Han's... been through a lot... this isn't the first time they call you about something like this. Maybe you should take her to see someone."

"What, like a shrink?" I snort. "Pasadena. She's not crazy, she's hurt."

"Shrinks do hurt too, Kim."

"I'll think about it. Thanks."

He watches me a minute. "Kim?"

"Yeah."

"You're exhausted. Have you gotten any rest since your mission the other day?"

I sigh. "No... Han got sick that night, and I had a project... and I had to catch up at work."

He glares at me. "Kim..."

"Wade, I'm fine."

"You aren't. When do you eat?"

"Wade!"

"Kim, you're thin, and tired, and you don't eat or sleep or... anything."

"I-I have to take care of Han... and I have school and work... and I have-"

"You have to take care of yourself... or else none of that stuff will be relevant. You can't take care of anything if you get sick."

I sigh. "I promise I'm okay. I'll try to be better at this, okay?"

His expression hardens. "Kim, you're one of my best friends. I've known you for years. I know you. Quit your self-sacrificing, perfectionist bullshit, now isn't the time. You've bitten off more than you can chew, and it's time to get your priorities straight and cut loose the things you don't need. I won't have you wasting away like this."

Wade has called me out before... but I've never seen him this... pissed. Is he pissed? He sounds pissed. I don't know what to say.

He sighs. "Kim, I know it's hard for you to quit doing some things you love, and things you've been committed to for so long. But don't let those things get in the way of your health and of your life. Okay? I'm going to have to get Mankey to get his ass down there and talk some sense into you."

I smile involuntarily. "I could use some hang-out time."

His smirk is devious, and he starts typing furiously on his keyboard. He picks up his cell phone shortly after. "I have a better idea. Let me know when you're out of your meeting with Han. Kim Possible's new mission is Operation Retail Therapy."

* * *

I sit with my arms crossed and an eyebrow raised as the principal explains that Han is in trouble because three little brats got rough with her. She broke the first brat's nose, and the other two also ended up with broken bones.

"So you see, we don't condone such violence at this facilit-"

I slam my hand down on the table. "You are the educators here. Your little brats attacked my kid, and they shouldn't have. If you can't control your students, don't expect me to discipline my child for defending herself from multiple attackers."

"Miss Possible-"

"I'm taking Hana home now. Any disciplinary action against her I expect will also be brought against the kids who attacked her as well."

"Miss Possible, your child was excessive and violent when she defended herself. I cannot and will not punish other children for her lack of control."

"Tell those brats to pick on someone their own size," I hiss at the principal, straightening to my full height and glaring at him. He tries not to look afraid. "My child is a gifted in martial arts, and holds several black belts. Those kids are bullies, and they picked on my kid and her friends for the last time. _Keep them away from Hana._"

Sensing my fury, he steps back. "There is no tolerance for bullying at this school."

"Every time you call me to complain about Hana you tell me the same thing, and every time I tell you that those kids are picking fights with her, trying to get a rise out of her, purposely pushing her buttons and hurting her feelings. I have had _enough!_ I have school and work and I don't have time for this. If you can't control your students, don't expect me to control mine. That's all I have to say about this." I storm out of the office, fuming. Did they really think I'd punish Han for punching those kids out? In the words of Professor Dementor, "NO! Is the correct answer." I do have to talk to her though. The super ninja skills are supposed to be on the down low, although how to control that with a four- year-old is beyond me. Besides, as much as I kick bad guy ass, I can't really condone her beating up anyone who crosses her. She needs to know that for now the line is drawn at self defense, and she better not use her talent for anything else.

Han is sulking in the reception area, and I squat down again, eye level in front of her. "Hana, baby, we need to talk."

Her eyes pool. "Am I in trouble?"

I just smile at her, trying to be soothing but avoid her question. "Lets take a walk in the park today, okay?"

She perks up visibly. "Okay!" We walk outside, firing off a quick text to Wade to tell him I'm done with the meeting. He beeps in to tell me that he's arranged some down time for me this weekend. I tell him he continues to rock, and he gives me his signature point-and-wink before signing off, but not before telling me that he'll taze me with my own Kimmunicator if I don't eat and sleep regularly.

I roll my eyes and take Han to the park. We have hot dogs and walk along the path. I watch her as she bounces along, taking in everything around her. I can't help but smile at the look on her face.

After we walk a distance on the path through trees and over a small stream, we come to a bench in a clearing next to the path, and she bounces over to sit on it. I sit next to her.

"Hana?"

"Yeah, Kimmie!" she beams up at me and I hug her.

"Hana," I say into her hair, "What happened today?"

By the time I've pulled away to look at her, her expression has turned from bliss to pissed. "He said he was gunna make me eat sand! And they grabbed my hair!"

Huh? "Make you eat sand...?"

"Yeah! He said that only stupid people eat sand and that I'm stupid, so I have to eat the sand! I don't wanna eat sand, I'm not stupid!" Then she gasps and covers her mouth. "I'm not supposed to say that. Miss Carter says 'stupid' is a bad word."

I sigh. I've found that Han is far from stupid. Her homework is always done by the time I pick her up, and she does it herself with no help. But I digress. They were attacking her, and from the times I've been called to pick her up over the last three weeks, they've probably been doing it a long time.

Stupid brats. They'll get a piece of me if they don't cut that shit out, pronto. And the asshole principal who thinks Han is going down for this has another think coming. Fucker.

Han's demeanor is dejected. "Are yew mad at me, Kimmie?"

"No, baby, I'm not angry at you. I'm angry that your teacher hasn't done a better job at making sure you're okay. I'm glad you defended yourself." After a beat, "Han... you know that those things we can do, they are _only_ to defend yourself, right?"

She nods, wide-eyed. "I didn't hurted them on purpose! He hit me first, and they grabbed my hair!"

"I know Hana, I just want you to know that you can't hurt other people, unless they hurt you first."

She nods. "I know, Kimmie! Miss Carter says we should always play nice."

"That's right baby girl. You should always play nice."

She is silent for a long time before she speaks. "Kimmie?"

"Yeah?"

"When is Wonnie coming back?"

I hug her again. "I don't know... he might not come back, Hana."

"But I miss him! Doesn't he know I miss him?"

"I'm sure he does, Hana Banana."

Her lip quivers. "Why doesn't he come home? Doesn't he care?"

I look down at her tear filled eyes. "When he... left... he said to tell you that he loves you."

"But he can't come?"

I shake my head.

"But I want him back!" she shrieks, tears pouring from her eyes.

I just hold her. "Me too, baby girl," I whisper.

* * *

It's finally the weekend. My doorbell rings bright and early Saturday morning and when I open it, I scrrub the sleep from my eyes to find Monique glaring at me. "Girl what in the hell happened to you? You look like death. Come on, you need a facial... and a hair cut! Look at them ends, girl. Seriously."

"I guess I've been too busy."

"Kim, you can't ever let yourself get too busy for personal hygiene and retail therapy!" she takes my hand to yank me out the door, but I pull back. "Wait! I'm not even dressed and Han is still sleeping! Wait, what am I going to do with Han?"

Someone steps out of the shadows and leans against the door frame. "Hey Kim."

"Josh! What are you... aren't you both supposed to be in school?"

"Well yeah, but your friend Wade left us both messages telling us that you needed us here. We called him back, and he arranged for us to come." He hugs me and frowns. "You've lost weight."

I roll my eyes and jump in the shower. Monique yells for me not to bother with shaving and all that... apparently I'm going to be waxed and exfoliated and God knows what else.

I dress in dark jeans and a tan colored low-cut top with black suede strings that tie up, making the neck line less revealing. Monique approves and we head out. I wonder why my skinny jeans aren't so skinny anymore.

Massages, leg, bikini, and facial waxing, manicures, pedicures and fluffy white towels take up the next four hours of my day, and then I'm brought into a room that turns out to be a hair salon.

"Francois?!" I gasp as I see my old, gay friend from France who happens to by one of the top stylists in the world. I rescued his poodle from dog-nappers. Long story.

"Ah, Kim Possible," he says in his hilarious accent. "What have you done to your poor hair?!"

I shrug. "Nothing, really."

He tsks at me. "I must get your hair back to it's former shine and volume! I must deep condition... oh, and cut these split ends. Oh, and this color!" He tsks again, reaching into his huge bag and pulling out several bottles. I'm anxious about him dying my hair, but he assures me that I'll still be a red when he's done... he just wants to add some dimension... whatever that means.

What feels like years later, hundreds of little aluminum foils weigh down my head. Monique is squealing about how I'm going to look and all the shopping we're going to do, and I just listen. I hadn't realized how tired I've been until today, now that I get the chance to relax.

I'm guided to the sinks where Francois washes my hair thoroughly, massaging and scrubbing my scalp until I'm half asleep. He sets about cutting and drying it, and when it's done, I stare at the mirror in surprise. The redness of my hair is a bit deeper, but I still look like me. It's shiny and it falls in layers to the middle of my shoulder blades. It feels too short, and I'm not used to it. I'm used to it hanging around the small of my back. I'll adjust I guess. I run my hands through it, and it's soft and silky. "Woooow," I whisper.

"I know right?" Monique's smile is blinding. "Girl you're looking fiiiiiiine!"

I flush under her stare and soon we're off shopping. By the end of the day I'm tired, but in a good way. We walk into my apartment laughing and talking to find Josh on the floor with Han. A huge roll of white paper covers the floor, and there are news papers everywhere too. In the middle of it all is a rather large... canvass? And Han is painting on it. Josh is sitting with his ass in a spot of red paint, watching with an amused expression. "She's really good," he says. I slip off my shoes and make my way towards the couch to put down all our shopping bags, and then I step carefully over all the mess of paint and news papers to where they are. She's painting the scenery at our bench at the park, and I'm amazed at how good it looks. While she can't exactly sketch a wooden bench from memory or get the shapes of the trees just right, her spacial abilities are astounding and the colors she uses are spot on.

Hana smiles up at me, brushing her hair out of her face and effectively coating it in green paint. "Kimmie! Look what I'm paintin'!"

"I see, baby girl," I smile at her. "It's really beautiful."

Josh looks up and his jaw drops briefly, but he manages to close his mouth and raise an eyebrow. He doesn't say anything, and he doesn't need to. He gets his message across and I try to keep myself from blushing furiously.

"Kimmie! Are yew listenin'? I said thank yew!"

"Oh, you're welcome honey. Let's get you... cleaned up, okay?"

She nods and runs for the shower.

Josh picks up the painting to set it on the table in the kitchen to dry and rolls up all the paper and news papers into a ball. The carpet looks undamaged, and I'm grateful. He chuckles. "She's a handful, so I wasn't sure how well this would work. But it looks good. Tomorrow I'll come by before we leave if you need any help cleaning it up or anything."

"Well, you can repaint the wall... there isn't much you can do for a painted carpet... or painted jeans," I smirk at him.

"True," he shrugs. Then he frowns, checking his pants. "Shit," he curses under his breath, running to wipe up as much of the paint as he can. He finishes gathering all the stuff and Monique tells him she'll wait outside before hugging me. He smiles after her. After a moment of silence, he speaks again. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I tell him sincerely.

"I hope that from now on you're going to take care of yourself. While getting to know Han is awesome, I'd rather not have to come lay down the law with you again. I've got projects to work on, and Monique is swamped with work and fashion school."

I raise my hands in a gesture of surrender, chuckling. "I get it. I'll be on my best behavior."

"You better be," he smirks, leaning in to kiss my cheek before sauntering out the door.

I stare after him long after he's gone before closing the door. Without friends like them, I know I would be lost.

* * *

"Are you sure she's going to be okay?" The voice sounds far away.

"Yes. She just seems to be suffering from some slight dehydration and a lot of exhaustion. There is one other issue..."

I try to peel my eyes open so that I can look around, but they feel like they've got neutron stars attached to the eyelids. Who are they talking about?

A hand squeezes mine. Not a girl's hand... not Ron's hand. A voice whispers in my ear. "Kim? You awake?"

I try to answer him, but I'm too tired. I want to sleep.

"Kim."

Ugh, Josh let me sleep! Wait, Josh?

My memory floods my brain and suddenly my eyes are wide open. "Where is Hana?"

"Monique just took her down to eat. How do you feel? When we went back to your apartment this morning we knocked for hours. Han finally opened the door, saying that you wouldn't wake up."

"I feel like shit," I grouse. "Is she okay? How'd I end up in the hospital?"

He just gives me his traditional smirk, and then his face gets serious. "We have to talk, Kim."

I stare at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Look, the doctor said you were dehydrated and probably super exhausted... which is to be expected I guess, considering all the crap you put yourself through. But that has to end, now. Do you understand?"

"I told you I'd be okay."

"Kim, I'm serious. You need to get it together. Your body is on overload, and your health is at serious risk."

"I know, I know! Why do you keep telling me-"

"Kim, you're pregnant."

What? I'm sorry, did he say _pregnant_?

Josh's face is suddenly anxious. "Are you okay...?"

"How... but I haven't even been with anyone... except _him_."

His eyes are sad.

Disbelief and panic fight for control of my brain. Pregnant...? I'm having _his_ baby?! But he's gone! How on earth am I going to raise...

"Kim, calm down."

I sputter at that one. "Calm... down?! Are you- are you kidding me?! He left me with his sister and now I'm having a baby too! I can't do this!"

"Yes you can," he says, and his voice is low and soothing. "You've been so good with Han. She's smart and beautiful and well taken care of. You can take care of a baby."

"Yeah but Han is... Han! A baby is different! You have to change their diapers and feed them every couple hours and... what about school? How am I supposed to support myself and a baby and Han while going to school?"

He's silent and I contemplate the possibility that I might end up dropping out of school. Panic rises in my throat, choking me. Oh God, how did I get into this? I'll lose my career... and worse...

He pulls me to him and I cry for a long time. He rubs my back and for the first time in a long time, I feel like everything will be okay. He tells me it will be, and I pull back. "I'm sorry I ruined your shirt."

"No worries," he shrugs.

I take a deep breath. "I want to go home. I'm going to hand over the apartment and transfer to Middleton U. I can get a job there and stay at home or maybe Ron's house, to minimize the bills I would have to pay."

He smirks. "See? There's the Kim Possible we all know and love. It'll be good to have you home, so that we can all keep an eye on you."

"I don't need a babysitter, Joshua Wendell."

"Apparently you do, Kimberly Anne."

I flip him off and he's still got that perpetual smirk on his face.

"Kim, I know you're all crime-fighting, world-saving, badass awesomeness, and I know you can fend for yourself in that aspect. But even heroes need someone to lean on."

"I can't save the world now," I tell him flatly. "I'm... I mean, it's too dangerous for the... pregnancy." More panic rises in my throat. The one thing I still love to do, I'm losing.

Josh sighs. "Kim, you don't have to quit school, or your missions or anything else. Just get your prio-"

"My priorities are Han and now this baby," I tell him.

He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

* * *

I've been sitting in my room in the dark for a while. Thinking. Planning. Panicking. Letting my hand roam over where I estimate my baby is. Crying, sometimes from happiness, sometimes from fear. Sometimes from sadness, but mostly from anger. Anger that my life is suddenly like a plane with no power and no engines, lost in the clouds with no way to determine which direction is up, and which is down. Anger that he's the reason my life is plummeting out of control.

It all makes sense now. I thought all the sickness I've been getting hasn't just been stress... it was me being pregnant. Dear God, I'm pregnant.

The Kimmunicator vibrates and I answer with a sigh.

"Kimmie! Hi, honey... what's the matter? How are you, I heard you've been sick these days."

"I'm not sick, mom..." I stare away from the screen into the darkness. I feel the corners of my mouth lift briefly as I stare away from the screen. I can't help it. The smile threatens to grow, and when I turn back to my mom on the small touch-screen, she's watching my excitement war with my other feelings.

Her eyes narrow infinitesimally. "What's going on, Kim?"

She called me Kim? That's cold.

I try to regain my composure. "I'm transferring to Middleton University."

"What?! Why? You love it there."

Sadness washes over me. "Not anymore."

"Oh honey, I wish-"

"I'm moving into Ron's house."

Her eyebrows arch in surprise. "Oh?"

"It has space for all of us."

"All of us?" Her eyes narrow again, and then her mouth falls open. "Kimmie!"

That blasted smile threatens to appear again.

"How long have you known?"

"Since earlier today."

"How... far along?"

"Three months."

She frowns. "You're awful thin for the end of your first trimester, Kimmie."

I shrug.

"Kimmie-"

"Josh and Monique both already lectured me. The doctor gave me all these vitamins and made me swear to take them. I promise I'm going to take care of myself."

She relaxes slightly. "Kimmie?"

"Yeah mom?"

"Are you... are you happy?"

"I'm... not sure. I mean... I'm so happy, but... I wish he were here." The last thought brings tears to my eyes. "I'm angry, momma. I'm angry that he left me here to deal with this."

Mom's eyes sadden. "Oh honey."

"I feel all this panic... I wish I knew that everything was going to turn out okay." I sniffle and furiously wipe my face. I _hate_ crying. Doesn't change the fact that I seem to be doing that a lot anyway...

"Kimmie," mom says in a tone that demands my attention.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Everything is going to be okay."

I smile at her. "Thank you."

* * *

"Hey, Wade."

"Hey, Kim. How are you?"

I fume. "If I had a nickel for every time-"

"Relax," he chuckles before getting serious. "We're all worried, that's all."

"No need to worry."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yes," I hiss at him, fixing him with me 'look'. "Really!"

He holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Alright, alright. Now quit beating around the bush and tell me what's really up."

I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly and buying time to think about what I'm going to say. He just waits, growing more suspicious by the second. "Kim?"

"Wade... I-I want to thank you for all the work you've put into this world-saving thing over the years. You've become more than a team member, you're family now."

His expression softens and he smiles.

"I want you to know that you're one of my closest friends, and that I trust you with my life. That will never change."

He raises an eyebrow, suspicious again. "Why would it change?"

"It wouldn't... not even if I wanted you to take down my website."

He chokes on his drink, sputtering. "I'm sorry, what?" he coughs, staring in shock. "You want me to take down your- but Kim-"

"I can't do missions anymore-"

He looks both sad and pissed. "Because of Ron?"

"Yes and no. Are you going to let me explain now?"

He smiles sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I just..." the breath I draw this time is shaky. "I just have new priorities. Namely Hana and... well, I'm pregnant."

He chokes on his drink again. His expression is dangerous. "He left you _pregnant?!"_

"I don't think he knew, Wade."

"He should have known!"

"I didn't either, until yesterday."

He sighs and is silent for a long time. Finally he cracks his knuckles, poising his hands over the keyboard. "Alright," he says softly. "And Kim... thank you for letting me have the... honor... of working with you." He gives a sad smile and begins typing after a few minutes he sits back. "It's official. You will no longer be accepting missions via your website. It redirects to a page stating that you aren't accepting missions anymore."

"Thanks," I whisper to him. "You'll always be my computer dude."

"And you'll always be my ass-kicking best friend," he says with his traditional point and wink. It's bittersweet, and we're both silent for a moment before he disconnects, wiping his eyes and mumbling about them itching.

Tears sting in my eyes too. It's official. Kim Possible's hero days are over.


	14. Baking and Heartbreaking

**chapter fourteen. sort of filler-ish. the next chapter will have Ron's POV. also unbetaed, so forgive any mistakes. enjoy!**

* * *

_"Her bun was baking, but her bloody heart was breaking." _  
_~Erin McCarthy, The Pregnancy Test_

* * *

I walk out of Han's room after tucking her in just as there's a soft knock on the front door. Wondering who it could be, I check the peephole. I can't see much but I open the door anyway.

"Kim!"

"Oh... hey Jenny. Jeannie."

They both hug me tightly and skip into my living room. "Kim! We miss you in the cheer team and-"

"- we all sort of want you to come back-"

"-But we know you can't so-"

"-we're throwing you a goodbye party."

I can't help my head moving back and forth as they finish eachother's sentences. They are like the Tweebs of cheerleading, I swear. I shake my head to clear it. "And... when is this party and who is volunteering for babysitting duty?"

"Oh it's at the dorm. And no worries, the Haley volunteered to give your sister and hers princess makeovers. Remember she has a sister her age," Jenny says, referring to one of our cheer mates.

"Oh... wow. Thanks..." I feel speechless.

"Well are you coming?"

"What? Now!?"

"Nooooo," giggles Jeannie. She tosses her hair over her shoulder. "Saturday night."

I smile at them, feeling my eyes water. "Thank you," I whisper. "It means a lot to me."

"Awww," the both sigh, and then they rush me, enveloping me in a double bone-crushing hug. Then they squeal in unison and turn to their bags.

"We have something for you."

"Yeah! We saw you looking at them in Baby Club Banana-"

"- and we knew you liked them-"

"-so we got them for you-"

"- but we don't know what gender your baby is-"

"-so we got both genders!" they each present me with a gift box; Jeannie has a pink one, and Jenny has a soft blueish-teal one. I carefully undo the ribbons to the pink one and open the box to reveal a beautiful bedding set for a crib. It is pink with white and dark brown trim and flowers stitched carefully into it. It has matching little mattress covers and sheets, along with those cute fluffy bumpers they put so that the baby can't hurt herself on the bars of the crib. It brings tears to my eyes immediately. I was looking at it in the store not too long ago, in a surge of excitement about my baby. And then I saw the blue one next to it, and it made me hope that I can have a boy.

Wait. They got the blue one too?! I tear at the second box and sure enough, there is a brown quilt with blue and white circles on it with matching blue mattress cover and sheets and bumpers in blue, white, and brown stripes. I can't believe they went to all this... and they were so expensive...

They watch me with identical expressions and tearful eyes. "We're glad you like them," Jeannie whispers, hugging me again. I whisper a tearful thank you and she squeezes me closer before letting go with a sniffly chuckle. "Hormones?"

"You bet," I chuckle back, wiping my eyes. "You shouldn't have."

"We wanted to," Jenny says quietly, leaning her shoulder on the wall. "We're going to miss you around here."

"Oh, before I forget." Jeannie bounces excitedly. "Your friend Josh is going to be at the party. We told him what was going down and he says that your friend will hook him up to spend the weekend with you."

I shake my head. "You guys shouldn't have... hold it, stop the tape." I watch them suspiciously. "Which one of you is crushing on Josh?"

"What? What are you talking about?! No!" They both stumble over their protests.

I plop onto my couch with a smirk. "Spill."

They both shift uncomfortably and I study them in silence. Then I grin triumphantly when one of them finds it difficult to meet my eyes. "Jen?"

"Ugh, how do you do that?!" She huffs and stomps her foot in frustration.

"I told you she would guess. She always does."

"Did you seriously just stomp your foot?" I chuckle.

"Ugh shut up!"

"Do you remember that rumor at the beginning of the year that someone started that she could read minds? I told you we should just tell her."

I have to laugh. "I don't read minds."

"Well then you obviously aced Interrogation 101."

"As if," I laugh, "They don't even give you those classes until you go to police academy."

"You want to be a cop?"

I shake my head. "No way. I'm thinking along the lines of federal law. Global Justice wants to sink its claws into me, but I'm thinking that FBI is reasonable. Especially now that I have Han and the baby to think about... GJ would be too demanding, and I have to be able to take care of them."

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out," Jeannie grins.

I don't grin back. "Not really." I stare at my hands. "It sounds fine in theory, but getting through school with two small kids is going to be harder than it sounds. Not to mention training for the FBI. It would be... so much easier... if..."

"Don't go there, girl. I know you miss him but-"

"Miss him? As if. I hate him," I spit at Jenny, whose eyes widen. "I hate him for leaving me to do this myself. Although I shouldn't be surprised. Maybe he didn't change so much from high school after all! I hate him, I wish I'd never met him." The venom in my voice scares even me, and I relent when I see their identical stunned faces. "I'm sorry," I mutter, looking away.

They sit, one of either side of me, taking my hands. Jenny speaks, her voice full of emotions I don't understand. "We were freshmen in high school when the whole kids-meal-robots-of-destruction thing happened. My mom- our mom, she was in the hospital for weeks."

"I-I didn't know."

Jeannie nods. "We were hiding out in our friend's basement, listening to those things destroy the house. Our brother, Jerry, who was eight at the time, he had seen when the robot toys hurt my mom, and he couldn't stop crying. I was afraid those things were going to find us and kill us all. Mom was unconscious, and none of us know any first aid or any way to help her. Then all of a sudden, the roaring and destruction just stopped... and there was this... dead silence."

"We found a tiny old battery-operated radio, and that's when we heard your name for the first time.'_The world-wide Diablo Destruction has officially ended thanks to world famous teen hero, Kim Possible.'_ Mom was saved, and our brother hates Bueno Nacho now, but everything went back to normal. We went on with our lives... until these alien robots attacked on our last week of school the next year."

"Once again we were hiding out wondering if we were all going to die, and once again we heard that you defeated the aliens and saved the world."

"Now we're here and we walk into the cheer tryout and our cheer captain is none other than _The_ Kim Possible. But you weren't what everyone in our town thought... you weren't some snobby cheerleading attention whore who felt above everyone else because you have all these abilities... you were just normal. You didn't even flinch the first time we started doing our whole... finishing each other's sentences or had some of those conversations nobody understands."

I have to laugh. "You guys have met the Tweebs. Weirder things have happened to me than the things you do."

"Why do you call them Tweebs?"

"They are twins, and they are dweebs. At age ten they were destroying my house with home-made rockets and fusion experiments. They got expelled from Middleton Elementary the year before the fusion thing... because they took some chick's DNA and tried to clone her. A child Psychologist said that they had a very high IQ and that my parents should put them in a special program, so they did the rest of elementary school and middle school in Middleton Academy for Gifted Children, or MAGiC."

"Wow... how many geniuses are there in Middleton anyway?"

I laugh at that. "I don't know, it must be something in the water. Well that and there's the space center where my dad works, and there's the MIST where they do tons of geeky research... my dad does some stuff there too in his free time. Wade has his own lab in GJ of Middleton, and on and on. The tweebs say they don't want to go to MIST though..."

"But Middleton Institute of Science and Technology is one of the best schools out there."

"They got a full ride to MIT, and that is where they are going to go. I think Tim wants to do something about quantum mechanics and Jim is doing advanced computer engineering and mathematics."

"That's intense..."

I shrug. "They are my brothers, and they saved my butt on more than one occasion. Heroes need heroes too, you know. I think that they are mine."

"That's so sweet," they sigh in unison. I shake my head.

Jenny clears her throat. "We digress."

I chuckle. "Yeah..."

"Look, Kim, we look up to you, and the rest of the world does too. You treat everyone with respect, even that bitch Vicky. You never treated us like weirdos because we still finish eachother's sentences and wear similar outfits. You don't judge, you care about the squad, and each person in it. You're the best cheer captain this school has ever had, and we all want to thank you. You've proven over and over in your life that anyone can do anything they set their mind to, and everyone has learned a thing or two from you."

Ugh, stupid tears.

"We're going to miss you when you're gone," Jeannie says, hugging me.

I clear my throat. "You guys know that I'm a phone call or beep or text or whatever away."

"We know. We had hoped we could still reach you through your website..."

"I still have email and Facebook and Twitter. You guys have my private accounts, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Of course!"

"Good... I expect to hear from you guys."

"We love you," Jeannie said quietly. "We... I'm sorry you've had to go through this."

I try to wrestle my tears back, but they come anyway. I feel my chest cracking as the wall of pain and anger and fear finally crumbles, and I sob in her arms. I register Jenny's arms around me at some point, but my mind is swirling with thoughts of him, why he could possibly think I would survive now that he's gone... Dear God, he's gone!

A blood-curdling scream pierces the air and I find that my heart is somewhere around my toes, even though I'm ready to fight whoever or whatever. My need to cry has disappeared, to be replaced with the need to smash whatever is making her scream like that. The girls freeze in terror for a moment as I shove them away from me and glare around, ready to defend myself.

I relax out of my crouch and head for Han's room. "Hana, wake up baby," I whisper. Taking her gently in my arms, I rock her back and forth until her desperate screaming gives way to sorrowful, desolate whimpers. I wish I knew how to help her.

"Is she okay?" Jen whispers from the door.

I nod in the darkness, not caring that she probably didn't see. Han's little fist tightens its grip on my shirt, and I hold her closer.

Curse you, Ron Stoppable. Only you could up and leave and break this many hearts in the process.

"We'll... go now, if you want."

I shake my head. Han is starting to fall asleep again, and I want to finish talking to them. "I'll be right out."

"Okay."

After a few minutes, Han is asleep I carry her into the living room, and the girls and I talk long into the night. Her grip on my shirt never loosens.

* * *

"Alright class, remember your weekly discussion submission must be completed by tonight at midnight. We'll see you Monday."

I finish packing my stuff and hurry towards the door, bumping into a guy in the process. His stuff scatters.

"Oof," he mutters, stooping down to gather his things. I notice his hair is almost the same color as mine. I bend down to help him but he waves me off.

"I'm sorry..."

"Kim," I fill in.

"Kim," he smiles. "I'm Glenn Jamieson."

"Nice to meet you," I say, relieved he isn't pissed at me for bumping into him.

"You too, I'll walk you out."

"Thanks. I'm on my way home though, this is my last class of the day."

"I'll walk you, I don't mind. Girl like you shouldn't be... gallivanting around on her own."

I have to laugh. "A girl like me has been _gallivanting_ all around the globe."

"Have you?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Madagascar, South Africa, Japan, Peru, Cambodia, Hawaii, Australia, Norway, Germany, Guam, France, Italy, Turkey, Outer Space, Scotland, Argentina, Brazil, the North Pole-"

"Wow, okay, okay," he laughs, raising his hands in surrender. "Wait, you've been in outer space?"

"Yeah. I had to save a monkey astronaut from his kidnappers and I got—well this sounds lame—I got kidnapped by aliens."

"Oh okay," he laughs. "You're _the_ Kim. I've heard of you. The crime-fighting cheerleader." he winks. "I guess then it's an honor to meet you. Where are you zipping off to next?"

"Um... home. I'm I guess you can say, retired."

"That's too bad. I'm sure the world could still use you."

I smile. "Thank you. I've just... had to rearrange my priorities a bit." My hand moves to my stomach of its own accord, and his eyes follow the movement.

His gray-blue eyes get cold when he spots my stomach... it's gotten significantly bigger, and he seems put out by it. Asshole. "Congratulations," he says, his voice flat.

The rest of the way home we walk in awkward silence. He leaves without even saying goodbye.

I wonder who he was.

* * *

Arriving at the doctor's office, I shut the car off with trembling hands. Today I'll see my baby for the first time. Officially, I'm four months along. It tanks that I've moved from being much too skinny to sort of the size of a small blimp, but life goes on. At least that means the baby is healthy, right? In any case, I have done my best to keep up with my work outs and take the prenatal vitamins and all that. I hope it's enough. Drawing a deep, shaky breath, I approach the counter. The lady there is sweet and she helps ease my nerves... some.

I sit down to wait and pick up a magazine... and immediately put it back down. Bloody hell. There's an article about sex while pregnant. _Well, at least that won't be an issue for me_, I think to myself dully, remembering the incident with Glen. I never saw him after that. I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet-

"Possible?"

I jump, and the nurse gives a small smirk before motioning though the door. I feel like I'm walking to my eternal doom and not a freaking doctor's exam. Maybe that's because it's not a normal exam... the stirrups in front of the exam table are frightening... even though I've been here before.

Ugh.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to block out the discomfort and awkwardness and maybe I even hold my breath until she says shes done and I can put my feet down, and the sigh of relief that slips through my lips makes her smirk. She tells me that everything looks good and that I am, in fact, pregnant.

Thank you, Dr. Duh, Ph.D in Stating the Obvious. Can we get to the sonogram now?

I gratefully put my clothes on and follow her into the room where they do the sonograms. I don't have to take off my clothes, thank God, but I do have to push them out of the way so that she can wave her magic wand at my tummy, which has grown plenty. She squirts cold gel from a tube on to my stomach, and starts spreading it around with the wand. Within seconds the small screen shows a gray blob I don't understand, with a tiny flickering in the middle-ish of it.

"Is that my baby?"

She nods with a smile, and tears fill my eyes. I watch the tiny flickering in silence for a long time. Part of my mind registers that she leaves and comes back with someone else. They mumble and confer for a while but I'm too busy staring at... _my baby._ He's... perfect. Tiny and little and-

Holy shit, does it have three arms?! Oh my God, my baby is a mutant. I got hit by one too many weird-ass rays of doom as a teenager, and now my DNA is corrupted and my kid's a mutant. Oh, fuck.

"You look panicked," the doctor says, her tone conversational.

Ph.D. In Stating the Obvious. Duh I'm panicking! My baby has an extra arm!

She just chuckles. "I had to get another opinion, but I think I know what has you panicking."

"My baby has three arms...?" I choke out.

She smiles. "Your _babies_ are perfectly normal. Congratulations, you have twins."

You're... kidding me. Right?


	15. Here Without You

**Well aren't yall excited xP You get three updates in a week. This is also loosely proof-read but not beta-ed. Poor Sentinel is gonna have some catching up to do. i heard he's been extremely busy so i'm gunna try not to bother him too much...**

** next week i might post an out-take instead of posting here... you guys will see the dark side of what Ron's been up to (and it will be rated M, so beware)... and i promised a companion piece to my one-shot Brave, i'm going to get on that too. hopefully this will give my awesome but overworked beta some time to get some rest and catch up. in any case, no updates here for the next little bit, but keep your eyes peeled for some out-takes and one shots. thanks for y'all's support... it means the world to me.**

**So your reviews gave me the distinct impression that KP isn't the only one itching to kick Ron's scrawny butt right now... he was reading your reviews over my shoulder and went back into hiding for fear you guys would take him out back and stone him. he's slightly offended you all think he wouldn't take care of his KP and that he doesn't have a plan to fix this mess (and to be honest, i don't think he's thought about how what will happen when he gets home... he's really just thinking about how much he has some scores to settle with the monkey freak)... I told him on behalf of all of you to man the hell up and finish his business so he can go home. He pouted and sulked all the way back to his lair.**

**He's there now, getting back to business with his new partner. Take a look.**

* * *

_A hundred days have made me older since the last time that I saw your pretty face...  
A thousand lies have made me colder, and I don't think I can look at this the same..._

_I'm here without you, Baby, but you're still on my lonely mind..._

_~Here Without You, 3 Doors Down_

* * *

**RPOV**

"_Thank you... for everything."_

"_You are a good man, Stoppable-San. I hope that you do not lose yourself in all of this."_

_I stare at my hands. "I already lost myself, Sensei. I lost _her_."_

_I turn away from the Sensei's disappointed face to start the ten and a half mile hike down Mount Yamanouchi, and the farther down I go, the more I feel like I'm drowning in my anger. Bitter rage consumes me and one thought fills my mind: Monkey Fist has to die._

I can taste it in my mouth still, that anger and rage. It tastes poisonous and miserable, but it is all that fuels me. Its like not only surviving cyanide poisoning, but having to drink it in order to survive.

"Stoppable, there's someone here to report."

"Send them in."

"We retrieved the journal and the hard drive."

"Good. Hack the hard drive and investigate everything on it."

"Your partner is here."

"Send her in."

Minutes later the door swishes open and my partner grins. "I always knew you had it in you."

"Shove it. This isn't about me."

"No? The fucker killed your parents." She crosses her arms.

"_The fucker,_ as you called him, killed Yori too. The thing that pissed me off the most was that package I received _the day I buried my parents!_ Do you understand? _I will not_ let him _touch_ her! Do you hear me? That fucker is going to die, and everything he worked for is going to be destroyed. I will make sure of it. Now where the hell is that guy? They were supposed to send him in ten minutes ago."

An indifferent shrug.

I glare. "Find him."

Her arms uncross and her fists ball up. "I understand that you're pissed and you're doing your whole 'protect Kimmie and have my revenge' thing... but I swear on all that's holy, if you start treating me like shit, not only will I NOT help you, I'll also kick your ass into next year."

The smirk on my face is mocking. "I'd like to see you try. Now get him!"

"No need. I kicked his ass. Will was going to take him to the ER, I don't know if they got there yet or how long he's been gone."

"Why?"

Her arms cross again. "He kept saying he wanted to _tap that_ and then he was all grossed out and turned off because she's preggo. He called her some names I didn't approve of, and I figured you wouldn't either. So, maybe I put a hurtin' on him, and maybe I asked him, _not so politely,_ to never come back. Boss lady is gunna be pissed at me, but I don't really give a shit. She'll be more pissed at him when I tell her what he said."

"What did he say?! Wait, why'd you say he said that?"

"Because she's pregnant, duh. That's what he came here to tell you."

"She's... what the... how the fuck?!"

She smirks. "You answered your own question there, Buffoon."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! There is no way!"

"Apparently, there is," she smirks. "You got your Prego sauce all up in that pot, baby cakes."

"For _fuck_ sake, now is not the time," I seethe at her. "I want all her medical records on my desk _tomorrow!_ If she ever sees a bill in the mail or in the hospital or anywhere at all, _I'll_ be the one putting a hurtin' on _you._ Understood?"

"Do NOT threaten me, Stoppable. Take your assoholic behavior somewhere the hell else."

I glare and she glares back. Her fists ball up again. I step out from behind me desk. Oh she's game, huh? Then lets play.

I crouch, and her hands loosen, becoming hollow. Her fingers loosely resemble claws as she gives me that stupid over confident smirk. Her hands, formerly empty, now hold green balls of fire.

**KPOV**

"Kim!" arms wrap around me and squeeze me tight the minute I step into the room where the party is already in full swing.

"Jen... Jeannie, let me go," I cough, and they immediately loosen their grip, mumbling apologies. They are wearing strapless dresses that barely reach the middle of their thighs. Jen is wearing silver, and Jeannie is wearing a deep purple. Both have silver heels that look incredibly painful. I whistle at them and they twirl, around, teasing me about thinking that they are sexy. I tell them that they are, and we all laugh.

Someone touches my shoulder and I turn around.

"Josh!" I smile happily at him and he grins, gently patting my stomach before wrapping me in a hug that makes me feel safe and loved.

"Hey, sweetheart," he says, and his voice is low and soothing. "How are you?"

I shrug, and he seems to understand. Jenny and Jeannie drag him away for dancing and drinks. I hug everyone else and stick to bottled water and my trusty Martinelli's. After a while, Josh comes back around, sitting next to me. He looks uncomfortable. And maybe like he just saw Shego wearing pink or something equally horrifying.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"The, uh... the girls here seem really friendly."

I burst out laughing. "Any of them making you feel a bit _friendly_ too?"

He shrugs and stares at his shoes.

"Spill."

"That girl Jenny. She's... really down to earth, and she knows art... and she's got the most fantastic little body-"

"Oooooohhh kay! MRRT MRRT MRRT! Red alert, entering TMI territory!"

"Sorry," he sighs.

"It's okay, I get it. You like her a lot, huh?"

He turns to me, looking me in the eye. His expression is sober.

I search his face, then a grin spreads across my lips. "Say, it, Josh."

"No way! What if she hears me?" he hisses, his eyes darting around suspiciously.

"Josh."

"Kim, no. It can't be! She's all the way over here, and I'm going to school for graphic design... it's my _dream_, Kim. I'm not ready!"

"These things rarely happen when we're _ready_."

He puts his head in his hands. "I'm toast," he mumbles. "What do I do?"

"Cheesy as it sounds, follow your heart. Trust your instincts, do what you need to be happy. You won't go wrong."

"What if... what if she up and takes off... like _he_ did?"

I wring my hands. "I can't know that she'll leave or she'll not leave... but if you really think-"

"I know," he interrupts, his sounding really miserable. "She's it for me. And I have no way of-"

"Stop, stop. First, was that so hard?" He shoots me a withering look and I raise my hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I was saying, since you _know_ that she's it for you already, after only half hour of dancing and drinking with her at a party, then maybe you should take the plunge."

"One look was all it took."

"You know, I always knew you were the romantic type, but if you don't want to end up like me, you should focus less on the fact that she _might_ take off and worry more about what exactly you're doing with your heart right now."

"I hate it when you're right," he mutters.

"I'm always right, Josh. Talk to her more, think about it... give yourself time. If you still feel like she's it for you then you know what you need to do."

He shakes his head impatiently. "I don't need _time._ I need to not be away from her. I can't figure this out from hundreds of miles away. Do you know if they have a graphic design major here?"

I squeeze his shoulder and get up for another glass of Martinelli's.

* * *

"Hi Timmy," I breathe when I see his face. "I miss you guys."

"You too, sis."

"Mom around?"

"No, they are both working late tonight. We ordered pizza." He's silent for a moment. "Jim... is in his room."

I cough, sputtering on air. "Wait, stop the tape. How did he end up with _his_ room? What happened to you guys having a lab in that room for you to blow shit up in?"

He tugs at the collar of his red and white t-shirt. "He doesn't want to work with me anymore."

"Why?"

"I um... I finally told him about Sophie. He was really pissed."

"Aww, Tim, I told you to-"

"I don't need the 'I told you so' speech from you, Kimberly Anne."

"Don't you full-name me, Timothy Andrew."

"Ugh."

"Spill."

"Don't you have homework or something?"

"I'm never too busy for my favorite Tweebs."

"Kim!"

"Are you going to talk, or do I have to reach through this Kimmunicator to beat it out of you?"

He sighs, running his hands through his dark hair, making it stick up in every direction. "He caught us making out."

Cue face-palm. "Aww Tim..."

"And then I had to explain everything, you know? Ugh, you were right!"

"Aren't I always?"

That earns me a glare. "It's a good thing you're going into law enforcement and not psychology. You suck at this."

"Sorry," I smirk.

He rolls his eyes. "I should have just talked to him," he says, and his voice is sad and miserable.

"I'm sorry, Timmy," I say quietly. "What can I do to help?"

"Talk to him? Please?"

"I'll try."

"Thanks." He brightens. "So how are my nieces?"

I smile. "You think they are girls huh?"

"And I already have names!" he grins proudly. "Danielle and Kimberlyn."

"Kimberlyn?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah, one of you is enough. And there's going to be two of them... it's too much. No dice on the copy-cat name."

"I like Danielle," I tell him. "Why'd you pick it?"

His eyes get sad. "You mentioned once that you wanted to name them after Ron's parents."

I'm quiet for a long time.

He clears his throat. "A-are you okay?"

"Yeah." I try to smile, but I'm sure my grief is still on my face.

"Now would be a good time to hug you." He stares down at something.

I chuckle quietly, nodding. "Yeah it really would be. How is school?"

He smiles, and the mood lifts. "It's great! We miss you around here though, Kimmie. Come home soon. And say hi to my favorite girls, okay?"

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too... hey, get Jim for me, okay?"

"Sure. I'll uh... put you through." Sure enough there's static on the Kimmunicator for a second and then Jim's irritated face appears on the touch-screen.

"What?" he grunts.

"Nice to see you too, James Junior."

He rolls his eyes. "Thought you were Tim."

"And what did Tim do to incur your wrath, may I ask?"

"Like you don't already know. He tells you everything. He's your favorite," he gripes at the end.

"Puh-lease. He tells me everything only because you tell me nothing. Now spill."

"I have a project I want to finish. I'll talk to you-"

"Oh no you don't! if you hang up I'll call back."

"Kim, please... don't push it okay?"

"Alright, emo boy. When you're done with your project that's more important than your favorite sister, let me know."

"Don't you have homework or something?"

I laugh. "Tim asked me the same thing."

He glares. "I hate him."

"No you don't. You're just pissed that he put the moves on before you did."

"He knew I liked Sophie. What the hell?! What kind of brother does that?"

"She liked him back, Jimmy. That's hardly his fault. And he didn't really know, because you never talked about it."

"He should have known!"

"Why, because you grew up speaking your dorky Tweeb language and destroying the house?" He looks away and I let my voice soften. "Jimmy, the reason why you guys were so tight is because you always talked, always told each other every thing. Even your stupid Tweeb language was just proof that you guys talked to and trusted each other. How is it that you can talk to him about complicated shit like launching rockets and all your geeky stuff but you can't tell each other about a crush?"

"When did you get all smart and shit?"

"Shove it, just because I don't spend my free time blowing up the neighborhood doesn't mean I don't have something up here."

"Yeah yeah. I just wish he'd said something."

"He wishes you'd said something too. I bet if you'd told him not to go for her he wouldn't have."

"Well the look on his face when I saw him with his tongue down her throat doesn't suggest he really cared about what I thought."

"I don't know how to help you there. But I would seriously hate for the house to stay peaceful because you two can't get your shit together."

"Please. I don't need him to launch my new Jimminator." He types at his computer, confidently at first and then more desperately. "What the hell-" Something whizzes and screeches and his face pales. "Uh... gotta go, love ya, sis-" he cuts off and ducks as something in his room explodes. "Shit," he curses under his breath. "I'll call you back."

The screen goes blank with a beep, and I shake my head. Some things never change.

I get up and move into the kitchen to clean just as my Kimmunicator beeps. It's Wade. "Hey."

"Hey Kim! I've got news for you. Everything is all set for you to move at the end of the semester. The rest of your lease contract has been paid for."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Apparently, someone owed you a favor, but wanted to remain anonymous. They'll move in when you move out."

"How on earth..." I don't know Kim. Someone is looking out for you, I guess. I guess you never know how grateful people really are for your service until stuff like this happens."

"Service? I'm not some military hero. I'm just me. I happened to kick people's asses a lot and save some other people's asses a lot too... but that's no big."

He smiles. "Yeah yeah. Anyways, I just wanted you to know that all that is taken care of."

"Thanks, Wade."

"Less good, I have a package that was intercepted by the cops in my lab. It uh..."

"What?"

He rubs his neck anxiously. "It was a severed monkey head. I ran DNA and a bunch of other stuff. _He_ would recognize the poor little guy is Chippy."

"Chippy? The monkey that wore Nana's dress in my school pic Junior year?" He nods and I put my face in my hands. "This is sick and wrong. Who would do that?!"

"I can guess," he says dully.

Duh. "Monkey Fist! What, now he's going to stalk me? Leave dead things on my doorstep and write creepy messages in my mirror? Is this what he's reduced himself to?"

"Look, I don't know what to tell you other than that he broke out of jail and no one has seen him since."

"Hey, do one more thing for me?"

"Sure."

"Can you run a back-ground check on a guy named Glenn Jamieson?"

"Sure. I'll get back to you with that tomorrow okay?"

"Thanks Wade."

"Always, Kim."

No sooner have I hung up than it beeps again. "What is it Wade... Jim? You two... together? What's the sitch?" I ask suspiciously.

"Um... well remember when I said I'd call you back? Well I'm back. Someone... hacked my computer. They figured out how to reprogram a project I was doing... if I hadn't ducked that thing would have blown me to pieces. I asked Wade to check it. He said we should call you. Take it away, Wade."

"Besides the command to blow up, the hack came with an encrypted message. Still decrypting, that could take a couple more hours. I'm also trying to trace it to see where it came from but no luck. Tim is working to set up surveillance of your house and maybe I'll get someone to sit on your parents too."

"This is crazy."

"Better safe than sorry. I'll get back to you soon as I can."

**RPOV**

High cathedral ceilings that echo, painted a deep maroon, dark floors that echo with each step of her boots, computer and science labs with people sitting, tapping away, twenty four hours a day, and dozens of different security measurements represent home. This is my lair. Yes, I have one of those. These people work for me, either reading and researching Yori's findings on Mystical Monkey Power, or handling the reports from the people in the field.

They found Yori's house in China, and they went through her things. It became obvious to them since they entered, that she was held, tortured, and murdered in her own home. The place was ransacked, but they still managed to retrieve her journal, which turned out to be a series of mega-encrypted files on a computer she hid in a false bottom of a safe. When I got that report, I determined that I would kill that sick fuck in his own house too. An eye for an eye and all that.

Twice I've caught Monkey Fist trying to get his disgusting genetically altered hairy hands on Kim, and twice I've almost had the opportunity to annihilate him once and for all. But he keeps slipping away, and the more he escapes, the more angry I get. The angrier I get, the worse it will be for him when I finally get my hands on him.

He's pretty stupid too, apparently. He blew up Jim's room thinking that tiny little thing could actually blow the whole house. I have people watching the rest of the Possibles anyway, that won't happen again.

"What?" I snap as someone barges into my room.

"You want to get snippy with me again?!"

I smirk. "You already know you don't stand a chance against me, Shego."

"What the fuck ever. Look, I did what I came here to do. The first thing they managed to get off the files I already swiped from some museum in Washington DC. It's downstairs."

"What is it?"

"A container supposedly containing a potion called the Fortior Simia. Literally translated means 'Stronger Monkey'... it's supposed to potentiate mystical monkey senses."

"Have them study it and destroy it."

After a beat, "You mean you aren't going to use it?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Why the fuck not? That sensei dude said you were the monkey master."

"Yeah and that was before the discovery of any of this stuff. I didn't need it then, I don't need it now. I don't want it, either. To me that stupid potion and everything else in that journal represents the motive for a close friend's murder. I want no part of it. When they know the chemical compounds and anything else and I have that report on my desk, they can go ahead and flush it or whatever. I don't give a shit. They need to destroy the container too."

"Whatever."

"One more thing... did you find out about Kim?"

"Yeah. Her friends are throwing her a party this weekend. I guess it's like part baby-shower, part farewell party. We already have people that are going to be there, checking her drinks and all that."

"She never drinks... why would she now that she's pregnant?"

"No, stupid. They probably won't serve her alcohol. I'm thinking more along the lines of... someone spiking it with something other than vodka... to maybe try and hurt her."

"Oh."

"You're welcome," she smirks. "No worries, those creeptastic twins she hangs out with and the blond guy she dated way back when will be there. They'll keep an eye on her too."

I look up at her, feeling something other than pissed the fuck off for the first time in a long time. "Thank you," I say sincerely.

She nods, then scrubs her neck awkwardly. "You should um... read the doctor's notes on her last ultrasound."

"Why?"

"Lets just say... you knocked her up really good."

My blood rushes in my ears, and I swallow hard. "What does that mean?"

She hands me the file and I scan the first page, feeling my jaw pop open. I throw the file, a frustrated yell building up and exploding from inside me. This can't be happening...

My frustration is followed by dead silence.

"Hey," Shego whispers, tentatively placing a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

No I'm not okay, obviously! I _want_ to go _home_.

I want to go home...

She holds on to me while I cry for the first time in months.


	16. That's What You Get

**welcome back guys... it's been a lil while huh? we left off with Ron finding out how Kim's having twins. time's moving a bit faster here. KP is moving home, so that she can have some help and support with her kids while she tries to finish school and work and such...**

**the tweebs have been on about this cute girl named Sophie... They're going to reach the exploding point in this chapter too, and words will be exchanged...**

**for those of you secretly taking bets on the babies' genders... Jim says they are boys, but Tim says they are definitely girls. this chapter we'll find out who wins the pool xP**

**i'm posting an outtake today too, taken partly a comment in this chapter that Shego makes about the Director sending Ron some new assistance for the, uh... other part of his revenge. i've been talking about it for a couple chapters now, but it's finally just about ready. i got it betaed by a couple different people who i'll thank in the outtake itself, and i'm finishing up their suggested edits, so it will be out a couple hours after this. IT IS RATED M. it was dark and murderous and kind of gross, and very hard to write. just warning everyone so that there's no flagging or anything of that nature. a full disclaimer will be posted with the outtake.**

**anyways, on with the story. thanks again yall for your support. this is unbeta-ed again, so pardon any mistakes; if you find any or anything that could probably use one of those page break things, or if you've got any questions, let me know in a review :) **

**cheers,**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_"No sir, I don't wanna be the blame..._  
_Not anymore._  
_It's your turn, so take a seat;_  
_We're settling the final score."_

_~That's What You Get, Paramore_

* * *

"She's moving now."

"Huh?" I turn around, startled. "But she loves USC."

"Yeah but she's pregnant, and the apartment isn't big enough for her, your sister, and the babies. And she needs a sitter."

I put my head in my hands. What a mess. "Who's helping her?"

"That guy, Mankey."

I shrug. He'll take care of her. "Do you know where she's moving?"

"From what I understand she's moving into your old house."

Oh, that's really good. Surveillance is already set up on that place, it should be easier to keep eyes on her and the kids. No one has been there in ages, and I'm sure that some stuff is going to get changed around. Whatever, as long as she's comfortable.

Shego correctly interprets the look on my face. "I'll have them make sure the utilities are hooked up and all that."

"Thanks."

She nods in response and walks towards the door. "Oh, and Stoppable?"

"Two things: first, I took the apartment off Kim's hands. It's there if you want it."

I nod at that. The lease doesn't expire until the end of the spring term, and if she's leaving now she'll end up owing the rest of the rent on that lease... which I can't allow.

"I put down the cash for the rest of the contract and I put the thing back in your name."

I nod again.

"I'm going to see Drew for Christmas."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Actually... after my vacation I'm going to be taking care of Cupcake's protection detail... I'll be moving to Middleton to keep an eye on the kid." At the sour look on my face, she shrugs. "Director's orders. Everything is done. You're set up financially, and the word on the street is that you are officially the hottest, baddest badass around. I guess you're using your code name as your villain name."

Well shit, my codename in GJ is officially Buffoon. I'd rather have something like... The Joker. Coz Joker is totally badass. I need to work on my evil laugh though... eww, total Triple S moment! I also have worked up a name for myself as an anonymous mercenary for hire. I go in, move the drugs or what every they need me to do, and leave a wire or tracking device for GJ... the stuff never traces back to me, so people think I get things done. And then they get busted. Although, over time I've _forgotten_ to help GJ out with a case...

Shego continues speaking and I tune her back in. "...she won't help you _officially_ with the other stuff you're planning... but everyone here will still be here at your disposal and under your orders. She's actually got some guy coming to help you. He did black ops and stuff back in his day, he's got a lot of experience."

I shrug. Neither here nor there. I just need to finish this. _And I will,_ I think to myself as finger the cold metal attached to my belt.

**KPOV**

I pack up the last few things that go in my bag, silently saying goodbye to my apartment. Christmas break will be spent moving into... as much as I hate to do it, Ron's house. In my defense, it's Han's house too and she has a right to live there. And I'm her guardian, so if we need a place to stay, it's only fair we stay in the house.

I went over Thanksgiving break, with Josh, to do some painting and figuring out. I feel bad leaving Han in the attic suite, and there's no way I'll leave my babies up there either. So we repainted the Stoppables' bedroom and are in the process of making it a nursery. Monique loves the crib sets and picked all the colors and fabrics accordingly, and the new nursery was born just in time for me to get back for finals.

Finals went well. For the first time in my life I got a B in a subject. It was depressing. My teacher talked to me and told me I was slipping up. My hormonal response was "You try working, going to school, and taking care of your kid sister BY YOURSELF while being so huge that when you wear a yellow shirt you get ambushed by small children who think you're a school bus." Needless to say, he left me alone after that, and even congratulated me on my B.

The next order of business for me is something I've been putting off for a while, but I really can't anymore. I have to retire the Kimmobile in favor of something a bit more... family friendly. Im really sad about having to stash the spy car, but there's no way three babies fit in there, car seats and all. And I'm not doing missions anymore anyway...

"Ready to go?"

I nod, feeling sad.

He squeezes me briefly.

I lean into him. "Thanks, Josh. For everything."

"No problem."

"I wish I would have known you were staying here, I would have let you have this."

"Don't worry, I worked out a place near my job with a roommate." He helps me into the rental truck and heads around to the drivers side, telling me about his new place and his new roommate. We begin the long drive home, and I say goodbye to USC for the last time.

* * *

The reception I get when I get home is similar to the last time, minus something crashing and burning on account of the Tweebs. They both hug me when they see me, rubbing my tummy and immediately beginning to bicker about names. Apparently, Jim thinks they are boys. Oh God please no. Four Tweebs is too much. Way, waaaayyyyy too much. I think just these two could single-handedly destroy the world as it is... I think if there were two more, we'd be looking at destruction of the entire galaxy...

"Kim, when are you gunna know what their genders are?!"

"Soon," I chuckle at them, "And you guys can bicker all you want but _I'm_ naming them. You do know that, right?"

They both look genuinely disappointed.

"You guys didn't really think you'd get to name them did you?"

"But you liked Danielle!"

"You mean Daniel, don't you?"

They start bickering again and I have to laugh. "Tell you what, guys. If you guys make lists of all the names you think of, I'll look at them and maybe, _MAYBE_ I'll use one of your suggestions. Okay?"

"Fifty bucks says they are boys."

"You're sooooo on. I'll get started on my list of girl names."

"Bring it!" They both dash up the stairs. I'm glad they are excited about this, it makes me excited too.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping... I have a lot of things to get done. I want to leave a lot of things the way they are... most of the repainting is done, but the couches in the living room have been around since I was like 7 and need to be reupholstered... or maybe I just need to get new furniture. I didn't plan to use any of the money the Stoppables saved up for me, but I'm going to need it now. I also need some of the more basic stuff... food, clothing for Han. Things like that. And I need to unpack...

Now that I'm in Middleton, I'm thinking about putting Han in MAGiC. That means I'll have to take her to the dreaded child psychologist and the school will have to evaluate her to determine if she's what they are looking for. Wade sets up the appointment for me, and I feel bad that he's been sort of unofficially demoted from genius sidekick to personal assistant. He insists that he doesn't mind and that he's glad he can help me. He also says that Monique will be picking me up to help me with the decorating and the new car tomorrow.

The Tweebs appear on my Kimmunicator to let me know that they will be _tweaking_ my new ride. Apparently my new mom-mobile will double as a spy car. I tell them that they don't need to do it but they say they are doing it for Han and the babies.

"What are you doing to it exactly?"

Wade grins. "Well I'm going to help them out with some of the computer stuff... but they are just doing the basics. Missile-proofing, shatterproof glass..."

"Yeah but no rockets or nos or anything."

"Yeah you aren't allowed to speed with the boys in the car."

"They aren't boys, you know."

"Guys!" I cut them off before they start to argue again. "I can't believe you two have a bet on the gender of the babies."

"Duh," they both answer, giving me a look that tells me I'm the one with the Ph.D. in stating the obvious.

Wade rolls his eyes. "I'll be by in two days to set up some stuff in your car. The new and improved car-Kimmunicator that the your brothers developed has a few glitches, so I'm going to fix it up."

"Is all this really necessary?"

"Yes. You _are_ Kim Possible. Even if you're on a hiatus people could still want to eighty-six you."

I roll my eyes. "What the hell ever. Just let me know when I can drive it."

"You're welcome, gosh!" Jim and Tim simultaneously roll their eyes. Then when they realize they did a twin/Tweeb thing, they glare at each other and stomp away, muttering under their breath.

I hope this fight between them works out... it is seriously too quiet at home.

* * *

The doorbell rings and a girl about seventeen or eighteen shifts her weight anxiously, her bouncy dark curls chasing her. Her Blueish-teal eyes look like she would rather be anywhere but here. "I-is Tim home?" she barely whispers.

It hits me who she is then. "Sure, Sophie. Let me get him for you. Come in?"

She smiles timidly. "You must be Kim. Timmy can't stop talking about you."

I smile back. "He can't stop talking about you either."

She looks down. "I'll just... wait out here," she whispers, her voice shaking.

I study her a minute. She looks like she's about to cry. Did they break up or something? She sits on the step and wraps her arms around her knees while I text my brother to let him know she's here. I warn him that she seems upset too.

I sit next to her outside, the winter breeze stinging my skin. I stare out out the winter sunset, watching the pale sun and sky change from pale orange and dark blue to black with soft dark clouds that dance on the breeze.

"How far along are you?" she asks.

"Five and a half months."

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "You don't seem like it."

I chuckle. "Tim hasn't told you?"

"Yeah. I know, he keeps talking about how he's going to pick the names for both girls. I told him that moms always pick the name, but he insists." She stares at her hands. "I-I'm in love with Timmy."

"I know."

"I'm breaking up with him."

"Why?" I ask gently.

"Because he misses his brother, and I'm in the way of their relationship."

I shake my head. "They are both being stubborn. Their attitudes don't have anything to do with you."

"He wants to go to MIT... I want to go to New York University. He's a science nerd, I'm an English major."

"Temporary differences. Irrelevant things."

"His own brother hates him because of me."

"Jim has his own way of dealing with things. He really liked you."

"I know. And I hate that look he gives me every time I show up around here. He looks at me like... like I betrayed him. I can't handle that."

I don't know what to say to that, because I know what it feels like to feel betrayed, and I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of that look.

She looks up at me with tearful eyes. "I love him but I can't handle any of this anymore. Maybe... if it's really supposed to be a forever thing, I'll see him again."

I stare at my hands too. Maybe, if it's really supposed to be a forever thing, I'll see him again.

The door to the house slams, and Sophie jumps to her feet. "Tim? Timmy wait!" she yells after him, but it's too late.

I hug her while she cries, and my own eyes burn. Everyone always says that high school relationships never last, that it's just a crush and that it's not real. But I disagree. When you fall in love in high school, it's pure and untainted by the real world. And it always feels like the world is ending when it's over, and true love hurts the most when you lose it.

My heart breaks for my brothers and for the girl crying softly in my arms, because this isn't the last time their worlds will be ending, and because I see me—_us_—in Timmy and Sophie. I see real love and real pain, and I see the end of something I know could have been beautiful and permanent.

Eventually she shivers, and I bring her inside. She sits in the breakfast nook staring quietly at her hands. I blink back my own tears as I remember sitting in that same spot, staring at my hands the morning I realized Ron was gone... I remember that dead feeling, that empty sort of numbness when I realized I had lost someone I love more than anyone.

Loved. I don't love him. Not anymore. Right?

* * *

"Well I know who won the bet," I grin at the Tweebs as I let the door slam shut some time later.

Mom raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Dad puts down his paper. "What do you mean, Kimmie-cub?"

I sit down on the couch and put my feet on Jim's lap. He raises an eyebrow but lets his hands rest on my ankle. "Well?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about?"

Mom watches me a moment then sits back with a smile. "Congratulations, Kimmie."

I beam at her and dad raises an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Timmy, will you get your list please?" I smile at him, and he frowns a moment before his expression clears and he punches the air. "You owe me fifty bucks!"

"What?! Nooo!" Jim pouts and crosses his arms. "I'm not giving him anything!"

"Really? They are girls then?!"

I nod an he launches himself across the living room and knocks my breath out of me as he hugs me. "So are you using Danielle?"

I try to catch my breath as I laugh, nodding. It's the happiest I've felt in a long time. "Danielle Yvonne."

"That's beautiful, Kimmie."

I smile, but there's a twinge of sadness. There always is when I think about Dan and Yvonne.

Jim stops pouting and, in a surge of excitement, crashes into me, hugging me in a similar manner as Tim.

He glares at Tim and mumbles an apology to me. I just roll my eyes and hold my hand out for the list, which Tim happily hands over. Hmm. As a joke at the bottom of the last page he wrote, _"In case they really are boys, how about 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith'?"_ and I laugh at that for a long time. He grins. "You like that one huh?"

I chortle some more, shaking my head. I scan through the list again. Aside from the joke, he actually got really deep with this, handing me four pages of names, meanings, and origins. After a long time, I decide against naming my second daughter after the Stoppables. I want to name her after other people that have been my rock during all this. Both names are on the list, as if Tim knew I was going to do this. I wonder if he actually did...

"Well what do you think?"

"I think... that since we're on the topic of people I've loved and lost, I want to name her Yori. Yori Anne, after mom too."

"Oh honey."

"That's so sweet, Kimmie."

The Tweebs start bickering about the names and their bet and I roll my eyes again. Mom tells me she thinks the names are great and dad smiles indulgently at me, although I have no idea why. I prop my feet up on the couch again, but it's uncomfortable. Tim stops bickering long enough to notice, and sacrifices his lap to my feet before swiping the remote and changing the channel.

Jim glares and Tim raises an eyebrow in challenge. Within seconds they are bickering and hollering again.

I reach my limit. "Both of you, shut the fuck up!" They both stop mid-sentence, staring at me, and I stand up and put my fist on my hip. "You two are ridiculous, do you know that?! You're constantly arguing over NOTHING! What has gotten into you?"

They both stare at me with a look that says, "Dooooooiiiiiiiii you know why we're fighting" and it infuriates me even more. "Oh... that's right, you're arguing about a _girl_. Seriously if you two are going to spend the rest of your lives bickering because of a stupid high school crush then I'm kicking you both the fuck out, and you can argue somewhere else. I'm DONE hearing you two."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Tim yells, standing up and glaring at me. "I love her! She's not a stupid crush! I'm handling this."

"Right," I roll my eyes, "and you're doing such a good job too. She broke up with you and you can't stop bickering over her with your equally pathetic twin."

"Hey!"

"Hey what?! She didn't want you, get over it. There are other fish in the sea."

Jim crosses his arms. "That's right! He didn't want you, Kim. Get over it! There are other fish in the sea," He growls at me.

I gape at him as his words pour over me like iced water.

"Maybe you should practice what you preach," he says quietly before storming up the stairs.

I feel my mouth open and close, and I feel like I'm doing an impression of a fish for show and tell.

Tim glares after him. "What the fuck, Jim! You didn't need to do that you hurtful asshole. Fucking talk to my sister like that again and I'll rearrange your pretty boy face!"

Jim just glares. "_Your_ _sister_ needs to get the fuck over herself before she tries going all Dr. Phil on me."

"_My_ _sister _is going through something a selfish asshole like you could never imagine! Do you think it is fucking easy to get dumped by your best friend who you're pregnant by?! It's not! And it sure as hell isn't like getting rejected by a girl you know you were only going to use for arm candy and a quick-"

"Ron can fuck himself," Jim mutters to himself, interrupting Tim. "And you don't know anything about what I was going to _do _with Sophie."

"I know plenty about it you asshole! I heard you talking to the rest of the team in soccer camp, I heard you talking to your asshole friends! I can't believe that you have the nerve to throw Kim's situation in her face _and_ treat a girl like Sophie the way you were going to treat her! You're a self-absorbed, heartless asshole."

"Fuck you, Tim, it takes one to know one!"

"Stop!" mom yells. "First off the next one of you that says a cuss word is grounded for the next month, and that includes you, Kimberly Anne!" I start to protest but she cuts me off. "That being said, I also have had enough of you boys constantly arguing. This ends here and now."

"No way!"

"I'm not going to apologize to him because a girl liked _me_ and not _him_. It's hardly my fault he's always such a dweeb."

"_I'm_ the dweeb?"

"You both are dweebs," I smirk. "Hence the name Tweebs. You know. _Twin_ dweebs. Dweeb squared."

They both flip me off and mom glares at me while dad lets them know they are grounded.

"Aww, Dad!"

"Your mother and your sister are right. And I'll take it one step further. You both are grounded until this situation is resolved. No TV, no lab, and no friends until you both can be adults about this. If this girl was so important to you guys, why didn't you talk about her?"

"I didn't _need _ to talk to him, he should have known."

"So you don't tell me anything and suddenly the whole shit is _my_ fault for not knowing?!"

"Yes. You're so self absorbed-"

"No, you're the self absorbed one, making her feel like shit for what she feels, like her emotions are her own fault. You don't even like her, you just wanted the arm candy. She's worth more than that, and you're a piece of shit for making her feel like she's not. And now neither of us have her, no thanks to _you._" He's seething. I've never seen him this mad before. He stalks forward until his right in front of Jim. "I can't stand the way you _look_ at her! I can't stand the way you _talk_ to her, I can't stand how you treat her like she's _beneath_ you! Why, because she's with me?"

Jim smirks and crosses his arms. "Not anymore."

"Yeah and who's fault is that?!"

"Yours, Timothy Andrew. It's _your_ fault! You never bothered to tell me you liked her! And after you started dating her you didn't bother to tell me that either! _You_ snuck around behind my back! _You_ knew that I would be pissed. And you know, I might have even gotten over it if you'd just been honest and fucking _told_ me. But no, you let me catch you with your tongue down her throat instead! And you say _I'm_ the one treating her like arm candy... like a common whore. If she deserves better than being arm candy, she sure as hell deserves better than being your dirty little s_ecret_."

Tim turns his back on him, and his shoulder slump infinitesimally. "You're right," he says softly. "I didn't mean to treat her that way. I just knew that she started hanging out with you first... and I thought you would... maybe..."

"What, take her from you?" He scoffs. "Did you really not trust me enough to know that even if I did like her I wouldn't have interfered if you'd just _told _me."

"No, I was afraid you would do exactly what you did," Tim snaps. "I was afraid you wouldn't interfere and just be your bitter self-important—"

"Look, I'm sorry I messed up stuff with you and Sophie. I really am. I'm not mad that you and her got together, I would have gotten over that. I'm mad that you... thought I'd try and turn her on you or... something, I don't know what... which is all ridiculous anyway._"_

Tim shrugs. "I just didn't want you to be mad. You're my best friend, you know, and your opinion matters to me."

Jim crosses the room, dropping onto the couch rather dejectedly. "I was jealous," he says dully, and my head snaps towards him in surprise. "I mean, you're first string on the soccer team this year, you're popular... you get the girls... everyone likes you. Hell even Kim likes you more than me."

"That is _not_ true," I protest with a yelp.

He just smiles sadly. "You said it yourself. I'm quiet and I keep to myself. Tim tells you everything."

"Oh, Jimmy no," I tell him, sitting next to him and wrapping my arms around him. "I know you, I know you guys have your differences, I know you guys are growing up. It doesn't mean I like either of you any better." I motion to Tim and he comes to sit on my other side. I put an arm around each of them, dropping sloppy kisses on both their cheeks. I grin when they both groan and wipe their cheeks with their sleeves in unison. "I love you both," I tell them, and they both wrap their arms tightly around me. After a long time, their grip shifts, to each other. They mumble apologies to each other and then they dash up stairs to finish Jim's latest project.

Ten minutes later, an explosion rocks the house and a twin "Oops!" echoes down the stairs along with some choice words. Dad goes upstairs to survey the damage and mom and I shakes our heads. Some things never _ever_ change.

* * *

Jim, Tim, Sophie, and Sophie's new buddy Dana are hanging out with Han tonight, and I'm bored. I'm glad stuff has been working out between them. Dweeb Squared is closer than ever and Jim confessed to _maybe_ liking Dana. I chuckle at that. She's so his type. Tim is the 'dark beauty' kind of guy... Jim is more of a leggy blonde type. And she's a leggy blonde. Straight blonde hair and brown eyes that apparently are refreshing for him. Tight curves and long, tan legs, which he says look fantastic when she rides her motorcycle. Yes, she's definitely more his type.

The argument that happened that night a couple months ago has stayed in my mind. Jim said something that stayed with me a long time. He told me, in not so many words, that I'm pining over Ron and that I'm as pathetic as I made him to be. But this is totally different, isn't it? I mean, now we have babies together. And I'm taking care of his sister! Surely my situation is different.

The doorbell rings and I waddle to the door. Yes, waddle. I waddle now. Ugh. The person who I find on the other side surprises me. "Shego?"

"Hows it hangin', Cupcake?"

I shrug. My feet hurt, I'm cranky, and I'm bored. Oh, did I mention I can't see my toes? Yeah, that's depressing.

She pushes past me and plops down on the couch. She stares at the family photos of Ron's that are still on the mantle and her expression saddens. "You kept them all?"

"Of course!"

"Why? I mean, isn't it just... pouring salt on an open wound?"

"No. Han needs to be able to see where she came from." I sit in silence with her, the glow of the television making the darkness less severe. After a while I speak. "I thought you were going back to school in Middleton U."

She doesn't answer.

"No one has seen you around here in months."

"I had some stuff to finish out with GJ."

"And you aren't going to tell me what that means."

She smirks. "Patience, Princess. You'll find out soon enough." She sees my expression and sighs. "I'm not supposed to say anything, and I can't, and I won't. This is a fresh start for me, and I can't ruin it because-"

"Alright, alright. Will you just tell me where you've been?"

"Around."

I look away from her. All this time I've thought she was here in Middleton...

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't hear from you the whole semester. Since after the funeral, actually." I focus on keeping my voice steady.

"I know, Cupcake, I'm sorry. I really am, honey. I was on a mission."

"For that long?"

"These Global Justice missions are a bit different than the ones you get." She stands up. "Come on, I'm on a mission now too. I've been ordered to drag your sorry butt out of here and make you have some fun. And Drew's been begging me to meet him for drinks and karaoke..."

"Oh no." I try to resist her but she raises and eyebrow and drags me upstairs. "Shego, please no. don't force me to listen to hours of Drakken singing, it is NOT my idea of fun!"

"Too bad. The other option is you sitting here wallowing in your own misery and boredom."

"I don't drink."

"Oh, that's good, D didn't want to be designated driver tonight."

"I'm not being a third wheel on your date!" Eww, Shego and Drakken on a _date._

"Get dressed before I make you!" Her hand is suddenly engulfed in green flame and she gives me a mischievous expression.

I raise an eyebrow. "You're going to beat the pregnant lady into submission huh?"

"You bet."

I roll my eyes and go in my closet for something to wear. She appears beside me and sighs. "You soooo need to go shopping."

"I don't really have time for shopping right now..."

"You mean time or _cash_ since you don't take GJ missions anymore and they tend to give you a hefty reward for every time you get my ass _arrested!_ I feel soooooo sorry for you."

"Whatever. Besides that, there's that I don't have a job and no one is gunna hire all three of me," I say, gesturing to my huge tummy. My babies take their cue and sock me wherever they can land a good hit. Some times I wonder if it's Shego's DNA they have and not mine. Sigh.

"What about the cash Daddy Stoppable left you?"

"There's no way in hell I'm using that... unless it's an emergency."

She pulls a black dress out of my closet and looks at it in disgust before raising an eyebrow. "You don't consider _this_ an emergency?" With a whoosh, the dress is consumed by green flames. She turns back to my closet. "Oh, well this will due. Here." She shoves a black sleeveless dress into my arms before raiding my jewelry box.

Ugh I can't believe I'm being forced to do this. Although Shego's right about one thing... this beats the alternative.

I'm ready in half hour, and we head to Upperton.

Drakken is actually not a bad singer. He still calls me Kim Possible, and he still says my name like I'm his worst nightmare. But at least he's not blasting me with rays of doom or trying to feed me to sharks or mutant octopi or anything like that. He's just downing his scotch like there's no tomorrow. We talk, and it's not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. Together those two are a riot, and I am surprisingly having a good time. With my former arch-enemies. Oh, life as a former teen hero.

Ugh cue face-palm, he's singing _Hello, Hello, Hello_ by the Oh Boyz. Shego has the same bored expression. "Don't worry, he sings that every time he comes here." Her expression turns speculative and she casts a sideways glance at me.

Oh no. Oh hell no! I'm _not_ singing! "Forget it, Shego. Not a chance."

"Oh come on, Kimmie. Let loose!"

"Thanks but no thanks."

"You sang for-"

"Please don't... I don't want to sing."

Silence. I glance at her and her eyes widen, her lips drawing into a pout. She did _not_ just do a puppy dog pout. "Ugh. Fine," I growl at her. "You so owe me!"

She gives a victorious smirk. "Sure thing, Princess."

"I hate you."

She gasps in mock horror. "Kimmie! How can you say something so awful?! What ever shall I do?"

"Laugh it up, Shego. I'll get you back."

"Bring it!" she calls after me as I go up to sign up for a song. I look through the lists of songs and see one that I like. I sing it to Han sometimes when she can't sleep. I choose the song and sign in as Anne. I really don't want to draw even more attention to myself.

Before I can sing, however, Jim's frightened face appears on my Kimmunicator. "Uh, Kim, Hana can't sleep... she hasn't stopped crying and screaming. We thought something happened to her."

I sigh. I was even starting to look forward to- cue cringe- singing. "I'm on my way."

* * *

Shego drops Drakken off and they get all lovey dovey for a moment. I look away, partly because I still think it's gross, partly because it makes me feel a bit nostalgic and more than a bit lonely. I wonder when I'm going to stop missing him.

When I get to my parents house, Han is sitting on the couch curled into a tiny ball. She's silent and her eyes are vacant except the occasional tear that falls from them. "Hana?"

Her empty gaze shifts to me briefly and I take that as a cue to sit with her. I reach for her but she stiffens. "You weren't here," she accuses me quietly.

"I'm sorry, Hana, baby. You said you wanted to visit with Jimmy and Timmy tonight, so I went with my friends."

Her pretty brown eyes fill with tears. "I sowwie, Kimmie," she cries, "I don't mean to be mad."

"It's okay baby, I know this is hard." she lets me pull her into my lap, and I rock back and forth lightly to soothe her.

"I miss Wonnie," she sniffs.

"I know honey." I rock her for a minute before I decide to distract her a bit. "How do you like your new school, Hana Banana?"

She brightens instantly. She got into MAGiC easily and the rest of her pre-k year seems to be going pretty well: no bullies, no calls from frustrated teachers, and hugs and smiles when being both dropped off _and_ picked up. "Kimmie I like my new school! it's not boooring and I have a new fwiend! His name is Julian! And did yew know he has opposable toes?!"

I have to laugh. "Opposable toes?"

"Uh huh! And his elbow does it too! He's nice and his mommy said I can come play!"

"Well we'll have to let you play with your friend Julian then."

"YAAAAAYYYYY!" I feel my ear pop as she squeals and wraps her arms around me.

I smile indulgently at her, glad she feels better even if it's at the cost of my eardrum. I sit with her as she tells me about her new friend, Julian. She tells me about his hair and that it's really curly and messy and so yellow it's almost white. He's got freckles _everywhere_ and he's apparently double jointed. He likes science and he speaks three languages fluently. He's teaching her German. She likes that he speaks three languages because she wants to learn lots of languages too. I guess languages and arts are Han's strong suit. Besides physical activity, which is another reason why she likes Julian. He's the only one that can keep up with her when they all play tag at recess.

As she talks it brings me back to the when I met Ron, and how his silliness and fear of _everything_ captured me. I smile again. Those were the good days. Those were the days where we were innocent, where the world and its cruelties and villains hadn't tainted us, hadn't separated us. I squeeze her closer. If only she knew...

* * *

When I open my eyes again it's to Han staring at me with a weird expression. "Kimmie? I think yew wetted yewself."

I did what...? I cautiously take inventory of my body. The lower half of my body is wet and sticky, almost as if... oh—oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.


	17. Iridescent

**chapter 17, also unbeta-ed. the first outtake for this story is up.**

** enjoy!**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_"Remember all  
__the sadness and frustration,  
and let it go..."_

_~Iridescent, Linkin Park_

* * *

**RPOV**

This is bogus, I gripe to myself as I narrowly escape a hail of bullets. How did I get myself into this mess? Oh yeah. I'm trying to destroy my arch-enemy before he destroys my pregnant girlfriend. Who I had to break up with in order to destroy said arch enemy. Which means I'm currently robbing a bank because it may or may not a safety deposit box containing a top secret series of codes pertaining to the location of some monkey temple that supposedly can make you invincible.

I could use some of that right about now. Fuck.

I guess being bad comes with the foul mouth too, I muse to myself as I slide under a table to avoid being made swiss cheese. Seriously, Director, next time you give me a tip like this, I'm sending that spoiled, nasty, self-important fucker, Agent Du. See how well you'd Du in this sitch, bitch. Ha! That was a good one if I do say so myself.

When I reach the area with the safety-deposit boxes, it's quiet. I know this place is surrounded, but I have a plan to get out of here. If they don't blow me sky high first. Ugh I need to get these things open. Good thing the manager is hiding in here. Cue evil grin and my trusty friend, Betty the Beretta.

The poor guy gulps as I point her at him. "W-What can I-I d-do for y-you, s-s-sir?"

Pressing the cool metal to his temple, I guide him to the box I want him to open. He opens it with trembling fingers. I guide him to another one, and he opens that one too. The first one has a sweet, shiny black .45 caliber gun. The second has the codes.

I'm not going to kill this guy... only because he never saw my face and Dr. Director will have my ass in a platter if she has to clean up another mess like the last time I had to rob a place that was crawling with civilians. He never heard my voice either... I don't speak on these types of things, because I know some stupid fucker is going to be able to ID my voice and then I'll be fried to a crisp like a fucking nacho. Last thing I need.

I knock him out, which will be much to his relief when he wakes up... in maybe a couple hours. I drag the guy to to a corner of the room, where he'll be shielded from most of the shitstorm, and grab my stuff. Well, it's not really mine but... well, I guess it is now. Boo-yah.

I duck through several doors in silence and make my way outside. I'm glad this place is empty now, hostages would complicate everything. I really can't do complicated right now.

Soon I'm walking through the crowd of speculators looking at the destroyed bank with a mixture of morbid curiosity and mild horror. I wave at a police officer as I walk by, and he nods in return.

Pfft. Losers.

* * *

I stare at the calendar on my desk quietly. It's February 14th. Exactly thirty-six weeks since I left Kim in my bed. I still get reports about her every day. I see the pictures of the babies' sonograms... I pay for her every check up, I make sure that she's registered at the hospital so there isn't a bunch of bullshit when she's ready to have them... I take care of her as best I can from here.

Han still gets nightmares. God awful ones that leave her screaming and gasping for breath. I wish I knew what to do. She still sees the shrink I think, since I still get bills from that over-paid prick. Kim still holds her and rocks her to sleep, her sweet voice soothing my sister back into oblivion.

I know she hates me now. Even more so that the news of all the robberies and stunts I've pulled are getting into the media. It's only a matter of time before she and Wade figure stuff out, and I know I'll never see her or my babies again.

I try to be at peace with that, but I really can't. I love her, I always will. I don't feel anything anymore, except when I see Han's face, or Kim's, or the black and white and gray representations of my children inside her. They are the only thing that remind me that I'm still human. Without them, frankly, I think that all this pretend mercenary/robber/villain stuff would not be pretend. I'm already a bit trigger-happy as it is.

Yes, I've killed before. I'm rather numb to it, just like I am to everything else. I killed a man that followed her home with foul intentions. I don't think she even noticed him, she was too busy staring off into space with tears streaming down her face.

Tears that I put there. Rage burns inside me, rage at myself. She's _my_ hero, and I let her down. I wish every second that I can just go home and fuck all of this... but I can't do that. He's going to kill her if I do.

I also found and killed the people who were with Fukushima when he killed Yori. The evil ass in me had incredible fun with that. The rest of me wonders if I went over board.

Then I remember the pictures. No, I didn't go overboard. In fact, I should have made them suffer more. I should have used the Lotus blade, instead of Betty.

"Stoppable, you have a phone call. You should... take it in your private quarters."

I stand up numbly and head down the corridor towards where I sleep. I can't really call it home, because home is with Kim. This is just where I bunk. It's sterile and impersonal, and I like it that way. It keeps me numb.

"Hello?"

"Stoppable... are you sitting down?"

"What do you want, Shego?"

"I just got word from a... _source... _that I have in dispatch. A nine-one-one call was just made from your house. It seems Kim is in labor."

"What? Now? I thought she wasn't due until next month!"

"Well she's in labor, now."

"FUCK!" I scream, throwing the phone across the room. So much for being numb.

**KPOV**

The chaos around me settles for an instant as they get ready to do a c-section. I'm nervous as fuck, and I'm in pain to boot. My mom and Monique are with me, and they hold my hand when the doctor numbs me up for the surgery. Too bad the actual numbing process is painful and scary as fuck, and completely, at least in my opinion, defeats the purpose of being... well, numb.

I get anxious again when, after being placed on the operating table, they strap my wrists down. That's more of a reaction to all the times I've been tied up by one fool or another, though. I grit my teeth and remind myself that this is not the same.

"Alright, lets bring these little ones into the world," the surgeon announces. "Scalpel, please." He starts the surgery and I grit my teeth again and ignore the fact that there are people cutting into my flesh, and focus instead on the fact that my babies are coming.

Oh God, my babies are coming. Please let them be okay. It's too soon...

My mind spirals into mild panic. I vaguely hear my mom soothing me in over all the noise.

I'm not sure how much time passes, but soon I hear a sharp yelp over the celebration of the surgical team, followed by a tiny cry that makes my eyes water. My little girl is carried off to be cleaned and weighed, and I tell my mom to go with her. My second baby girl doesn't cry, and panic begins to choke me. I hear them smacking her around a bit to get her to make some noise, but nothing happens.

Please... let my baby be okay. Please please please _please _let her be okay.

* * *

I stare through the glass blankly. My Danielle is in one of those glass boxes. With an annoying ass bright light constantly in her face and an equally annoying nurse constantly poking her foot to test God knows what. And the painful cry that results from the annoying poking makes me cry... every time.

Little Yori Anne is in another tiny glass box. She's the older of the two, and even though she is tiny, the doctors say she's surprisingly healthy.

They are a month early and really small. They weighed in at barely over three pounds each, and they still have difficulty with some things, like eating. But the doctors say that with a lot of care they will be okay very soon. Danni has another problem that has complicated her situation somewhat. She was born with very low blood sugar. Now they are constantly poking her foot and making her cry. It pisses me the fuck _off_, actually.

A hand touches my shoulder. "Are you hungry?"

I jump, turning to see who is speaking to me. I can feel my mouth gaping. "Whaaat are you doing here, Joshua Wendell?! Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Jen begged me to come. Congratulations." He kisses the top of my head and I lean into him. "How are they?"

"They'll be okay," I sigh. "They were too early. They have a bit of trouble eating and stuff, and Danni's blood sugar is low."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispers, squeezing me closer. "But you know, they are strong like their mom, and probably just as stubborn. They'll be just fine."

"Thanks," I say dryly.

"Kim!" two voices squeal and I brace myself. This is gunna hurt.

Sure enough, two pairs of arms squeeze the life out of me and I chuckle. "Hey girls. Um, oww."

"Sorry! Sorry! Oh my God, Jeannie you were hurting her!"

"So were you."

"Whatever. Where are our new nieces?"

I point through the window where I hear little Danni start to cry... again. Because of the lack of strength in her tiny lungs, her cries are pitiful and small and I wish I had Shelby's power so that I could claw through the blasted glass and get her.

I wonder where she went... she said she was going to make a phone call.

Josh squeezes my shoulder in sympathy and I smile up at him. "I'm okay."

"No you aren't," he smirks, "You look like you're about use all sixteen styles of kung-fu on that nurse."

Now that's a thought...

"Look what you did, Josh! She's actually going to try it now!"

I roll my eyes at Jenny, but then smile again. "It's good to see you both," I say sincerely.

"We brought you something."

"Well that's not true."

"It's more like... we replaced something."

"Since you had two girls-"

"-and not a boy-"

Josh shakes his head. "Stop, stop, stop! Stop it please. I can't keep up when you do that."

Jenny kisses his lips in apology and he gazes at her lovingly while Jeannie finishes explaining. They bought me two sets for cribs a few months back. One is pink, white, and a satiny chocolate color, and the other one is white, that same chocolatey brown, and baby blue. I saw them at Baby Club Banana and loved them, but they were expensive and I told myself I would save up for them. But Jenny and Jeannie, who notice fucking _everything_, got them for me. However, since I don't have a boy after all, they bought another crib set. It's completely unnecessary, and I let them know that.

"Nonsense! We love you, and we love our new counterparts! And we're going to spoil them and you can't stop us."

I raise and eyebrow and Josh shakes his head. "Let's get you back to your room, okay?"

I sadden. "I wasn't done watching them."

"I have the distinct feeling that you never will be. Come on, your mom is waiting for you."

I let them help me back to the stupid prison room- I mean, hospital room, and my mom is waiting for me with a tupperware container and a knowing smirk. Thank God, the food here is miserable.

"I brought this for you, Kimmie. How are the girls?"

I stare at my hands glumly. "Alright I guess."

"They will be okay. Look at how Jim and Tim turned out."

I roll my eyes at that. My brothers are more than fine. I caught one making out with his Brazilian beauty the other day... lets just say I have blackmail material now. The other one I have yet to catch so cozy with his blondie, but his day will come. He drools over her way too much.

It's a couple of days before things before things start looking up and a full week and a half before they can come home. It's the biggest relief I've ever felt in my life. The first night, I figure out not so pleasantly that happy endings are just new beginnings.

**RPOV**

I have two sheets of paper in my hand. Each of them has a name, hand prints, and foot prints. Yori Anne Stoppable. Danielle Yvonne Stoppable. Tiny, beautiful fingers. Perfect little toes. I haven't even met them, and I miss them. I can imagine they are beautiful, like their mom. Maybe they got her fiery hair and my eyes. Maybe they are just like her. I'm not sure I like that... on the one hand, if they are just like her then they are without a doubt stunning. On the other hand...

Maybe I should calm down. They were just born, I don't have to shoot anyone for the next fourteen or so years, even though i maybe would rather it be more like twenty-five years. Ugh at the rate little girls grow up these days, it could be sooner.

Maybe I should just drop this train of thought. I'll digress.

If my parents were alive, I wouldn't be for what I'm about to do. I take a deep breath and push open the door.

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"I want... their names and their birthdays. And... these."

The girl at the front desk looks at the sheets of paper and smiles. "Congratulations," she says softly.

Hours later there are beautifully printed names on my back with corresponding tiny hand prints. Yori Anne, 2/14/2012. Danielle Yvonne, 2/14/2012. It looks awesome and I thank the tattoo artist profusely as he rubs something on it and tapes it up.

It's February 28th, and I'm back to work with bad but not unexpected news. Wade picked up on the nature of the robberies and briefed Kim today...

**KPOV**

I slap the snooze on my alarm and groan. Best and worst week of my life. Best because being home with my two baby girls and Han is amazing. Mom is staying here for a while, helping me. The bad news is that I haven't slept in days.

I'm feeding Yori Anne when my Kimmunicator beeps.

"Hey, Wade, what's the, uh, what's the sitch?"

"Hey Kim. How are the girls?"

"Uh, keeping me busy," I tell him with a chuckle. "What's up?"

"Are you sitting down?"

I motion to the couch and raise an eyebrow. "What's going on, Wade?"

"There has been this string of robberies around the world, beginning about three months after... you know."

I sigh. "You know I'm not doing missions right now..."

"Actually, Global Justice claims to be handling them. The reason I'm telling you is that all these places have something in common."

"What is that?"

"Well they are all either museums, banks, or high-end firms which have one thing and/or maybe _person_ in common."

"Who?"

"Ancient artifacts and relics said to be... _magical _in nature."

I frown at that. "So what, you think Monkey Fist is robbing the world? For what, mystical monkey relics?"

"Actually, he's still in prison. There are only a handful of people that know about the monkey power. You, Sensei, Shego, me, and... Ron."

"You think Ron is stealing monkey relics?" I give a nervous chuckle. Ron couldn't hurt a fly, much less orchestrate a string of world-wide robberies... right?

Wade's expression says it all. "I have video footage from a security camera that has Ron walking away from a bank robbery. They had the place surrounded. I have no idea how he got out of there, but he did, and he even waved at a cop on his way out."

He plays the video and I can only stare blankly as I recognize Ron's... swagger, for lack of a better word, as he ambles away from an utterly destroyed building in downtown Chicago.

"H-how can this be?" I stammer at Wade.

He shakes his head. "I'm not really sure, Kim. All I know is what's here. He's the one doing this."

"Why?" I ask, more to myself than to him. Tears fill my eyes. Of course I know why. Monkey freak is in prison again, so he can't do anything about Ron's rampaging around the world destroying monkey stuff. When he gets out, he'll be angry and looking for revenge. Ron will take advantage of his anger to exploit his weaknesses and bait him.

Great, my daughters' father is a criminal now. I can see the headlines._ "Hero Kim Possible has Children With a Wanted Criminal. DNA Confirms That Her Sidekick Turned Lover is Now a Rogue, Trigger-happy Lunatic."_

I ask him search for any news clips of the Chicago bank robbery. He immediately brings up video clips and I watch in astonishment as helicopters surround a building with shattered glass and fires burning. No one seems to be in the building, but the news reporter says that the culprit is trapped inside. Ironically, Ron appears in the corner of the screen just then, waving at a cop. He looks different. His hair is different and his skin is really tan. He's more muscular and his face looks perpetually tired and angry. There's a cigarette in his mouth. I wonder when he started smoking. There's a mark on his arm...?

"Wade, can you freeze frame that and zoom in?"

"Actually, let me switch to the security cam feed, you should be able to see that better."

He switches back to the other video and freezes on Ron. "Okay, what did you see?"

"There was something on his arm. I want to see it."

Moments later his arm is zoomed in and enhanced. It's not just a mark, it's a tattoo. It seems like some kind of logo. "Wade do you recognize that?"

He appears on my screen again, frowning. "It seems familiar. oh... my. Look, check this out. Remember when I sent Ron on a mission with a holographic you?"

I glare at him. "Yes, I remember."

"Oh, come on! He did fine without you! Let's just get back to the point. That was when he got zapped with the mystical monkey power."

"Yeah. And?"

"Well Larry suggested taping the whole incident... for the sake of my own research later. Look at the ground where Ron is when he gets hit."

He plays the feed and sure enough, the logo on the ground is the logo on his arm. I wonder when he got that done...

After a long time, Wade raises an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

I give a self-depreciating chuckle. "My ex-fiancee is a smoking, thieving, tattoo-bearing criminal. I'm uh, I'm great."

"There's um... there's more."

I sigh, waiting.

"Well... the investigation on Yori's death concluded. The DNA found... on her, in the crime scene, and all that... well it matched to seven people. One of them was Fukushima himself. The others belong to these men." He puts up mug shots and criminal records for the other six men. Then he appears back on the screen. "Kim, four of these men were found brutally beaten, tortured, and shot repeatedly four months ago. The other two were due for parole hearings, but begged to stay in prison out of fear for their lives."

Dear Jesus, Ron killed those people, I think to myself in horror. This can't be happening...

"I've been trying to find him, but he's totally off the radar. The last use of his credit card was a one-way ticket to Japan. I can't get so much as an address off him... no email, no ways to contact him. Even the microchip I planted on him doesn't work. It's like he vanishes unless it's to steal something."

I'm quiet for a long time. "I... I don't want you to look for him."

"What...? But Kim, he owes you."

"And I'm sure he knows that. Judging by that report and others like it, including ones where he's shot people, I don't really think he cares. Leave him be. Global Justice will get him."

"Are you sure?"

"He made it clear that I wasn't supposed to look for him. This isn't the Ron I know. This is... a new Ron. One I can't look for, or fight, or... love."

"I'm sorry, Kim."

I shrug dejectedly. "Me too."

* * *

It takes a long while for it to sink in that Ron's a criminal now. It doesn't sink in actually until three weeks later when I'm working out at the Fight Club with a guy I met there, Saul. His hot-shot lawyer brother asked me out last weekend, but I haven't called him back-

I hit the ground hard and his foot comes down on my wrist before I can react. I grit my teeth at the pain and lie still. I know I'm beat.

"It is a bon-diggety day here in Middleton, a-boo-yah! In your face!" He gloats with a cheerful grin.

I just shake my head. That's something Ron would say.

Ron. I fucking hate him! I can't believe he went rogue. It's not like I don't understand, I mean I would want my revenge too if some loser knocked off my parents but what the hell!

A small portion of my brain notes that Saul is having to work really hard to keep up with me now.

The thing that hurts the most about all this is that he... _knows_ what this could do to me, to my reputation. He knows what it would do to Hana to know her big brother is out there getting himself into the sort of trouble I would normally slap down on a regular basis. He knows, and he doesn't care.

She still screams at night because of _him_. If I ever see him again I'll kick his ass from here to Go City.

"Kim," grunts Saul from the ground underneath me, desperately trying to avoid my hits. I let him up and he sighs in relief, which turns to mild horror when I toss boxing gloves at him.

"Gear up," I growl at him, and he gulps.

"Don't you... want a break?"

"No. Gear up because I'm starting whether you're ready or not!" The guys wrapping our hands shudder slightly at my voice.

At the end of the day, Saul is exhausted, bruised, and impressed. And maybe slightly afraid. My mood hasn't lifted and I hear him breathe a sigh of relief when we part ways.

I stick mom with Han and the twins every day for two weeks while I abuse the poor students at the Fight Club before my anger finally subsides.

Then I feel guilty. I know they miss me. Han is tired and grumpy all the time, and her teachers tell me it was a difficult couple weeks for her. Not even her trusty new friend Julian can cheer her up. The girls don't sleep very well at night and I feel bad that mom and dad are stuck doing the newborn-twins all-nighters again. They both say they don't mind and they know the drill and all that, but I'm not so sure. I'm never ditching them again, no matter how crappy I feel.

I'm moving on. Maybe what Jim said to me when we all argued that one time was true. I was being cruel and I told him to get over Sophie, that there were other fish in the sea. He looked me in the face and told me to practice what I preach.

I reach for the Post-It note on my desk and pick up the phone. I'll forget him if it's the last thing I do.

* * *

"Dylan... Hi."

"Hi, Kim. Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

I follow him to his car and he opens the door for me before going around the back to the driver's side. When he gets in, he looks a bit pale.

"You alright?"

"Oh... Oh, yes, yes, of course."

"Are you sure?" I ask him, thinking he looks a bit green.

He nods and starts the car. We end up in a stuffy Italian restaurant in Upperton. There's salad and breadsticks and he orders a four-hundred dollar bottle of wine, cutting me off when I try to tell him I don't drink.

He frowns when the wine arrives. "You won't have a glass?"

"I don't drink," I deadpan at him.

"Well why didn't you say so?"

"I tried," I tell him, my voice dry. "You cut me off."

"Why don't you drink?"

"I never drank. Before, I needed to be sober on missions. I've never gotten used to the taste of it, and now I have small children."

He stares at the bottle in disdain. "I'm sorry, I hadn't realized."

"It's alright."

"You had told me about them, I just... I'm sorry."

"It's no big, I swear-"

"Mr. Pendry!"

"Miss Amelin," he says warmly, standing for a tall, busty blonde woman. He kisses both her cheeks and invites her to sit with us. She completely ignores me and I sit in silence for about five minutes watching Big-boobs Amelin shove her tits in my date's face before I reach my limit.

"Excuse me," I grate out, stalking outside. It's fucking cold and my date is flirting with blonde boobshell. Great.

I pull out my phone but before I can do anything a sleek shiny black Mercedes SLK55 AMG pulls up and a window rolls down to reveal long black hair and mischievous green eyes. "Going somewhere, Princess?"

I roll my eyes. "What, are you following me?"

"If I say yes what will happen?"

"I'll kick your pasty green ass into next century."

She smirks. "Better not say yes, then. Get in the car."

"Shelby, I'm on a date."

"With who, them?" she smirks and points through the window where boob-girl is cackling at one of Dylan's jokes.

I roll my eyes. "More like a third wheel."

"Incoming," she says urgently, pointing behind me. "Are you gonna bail or not?!"

"Ugh." I jump in the car a second too late.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

"Home." I give him a bitch-brow.

He glares. "Don't give me that look. I did nothing wrong."

"No? So we weren't just on a date when your little skank came and-"

"Don't refer to my colleagues that way. Miss Amelin is fully endowed to do her job."

"Dylan, let's finish off that bottle of wine," _Miss Amelin_ says flirtatiously, trailing her fingers down his arm. "We don't want _Grace_ to find out about this, do we?"

He gulps and shakes his head. His hand absently rubs his left ring finger. He's not only a womanizing douche, he's also a _married_ womanizing douche.

Great, Kim, you sure know how to pick 'em.

"M-Miss Amelin, I-"

"Let's go back inside, _dear._"

I roll my eyes, watching her contemptuously. "Boob job and lip job. Yeah she's endowed alright, since I guess her _job_ is to suck your disease infested dick! Don't call me back." I slam the door shut and Shelby speeds off, cackling about my dirty mouth.

* * *

We're sitting in my living room in the dark. The TV is running on mute but neither of us are actually watching. After a long silence, Shelby speaks.

"Are you alright, Kimmie?"

I raise an eyebrow. "You're using my name?"

"Would you prefer Cupcake, Princess, or Red?"

"Ugh Don't remind me, please. How is that loser anyway?"

"Ed is still in prison," she chuckles. "Um... I'm sure Drakken talks to him often." Her voice gets a touch sour at the end.

I raise an eyebrow. "Drakken? What happened to Drew?"

She flips me off but nods, staring at her hands. "Yeah, _Drakken. _You know we were always... _unstable._"

I snort. "To put it mildly."

"Dysfunctional?"

Another snort. "Ferociously."

"Complete idiots to think we could ever work out?"

My eyebrow climbs even higher. "I guess you're off again."

She nods, staring out the window into the dark. "I went to see him for my Christmas vacation... we hung out, remember?"

I nod, then I cringe. Weird things happen when you combine Christmas and Drakken.

She sees my expression and laughs. "Yeah, I remember. Do you remember what he said before dinner?"

I laugh more. "Yeah, he was all, 'after this is over I'm gunna open a bag of freak on all of you' which really translated to me kicking your asses again, and again, and-"

"Alright, alright." She gets serious again. "The point is, you know he can't stay away from his looney shit for long. One day I got home from being out all weekend and he had just finished building a mind-control machine. I don't know how it was supposed to work, but I fought with him. I told him that this could ruin everything we'd built, and he didn't care. He uh, he tried to use it on me."

"That shouldn't surprise you."

"Yeah I know right? But it did. I mean, he was clean for so long... and then he threw away everything... he threw _me_ away. I was so furious... I fucked up his stupid invention and called some reinforcements to take him in. Needless to say, we're over for good."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I tell her sincerely. She and Dr. D. might be too weird, gross... _wrongsick_... to think about (let alone try to articulate), but it's still sad that they are officially over. She really liked him. Loved him? Hmm.

"I would have gone along with it, but there's a lot at stake for me personally, now. I never had anything to lose before."

I consider that for a while, and I wonder what she's talking about. "How are you holding up?"

She gives a half-smile. "I'm alright. Sticking to being single for a while. You should try it too."

I guess it's my turn to stare out the window.

She squeezes my hand. "Seriously, Princess. You were always so boy crazy. But you... You are Kim Muh-Fuckin Possible. You don't need some self-important womanizing douche to make you happy. You don't need any man to make you happy. You have your men. A whole bunch of them actually."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You've got your dad and your dweeby brothers, you've got your hunky ex-bf bf Josh, you've got Wade..." her voice lowers. "You've got a family to take care of now. Forget about stupid men for a while and focus on your friends, your family, your kids, your _life._ I know moving on from your Buffoon is going to be hard. I'm in the same boat. But we can't just let them break our hearts and run our lives too. We have to move on." She looks me in the eye. "You're a fighter, Kimmie. Fight."

I stare at her a long time before she slowly wraps me in a hug. I don't care where she's been anymore. I'm glad she's back.


	18. Superstition

**I feel like i should be mean and update this and then not again for the next couple weeks... but i might not do that. we'll see. as Levi pointed out to me last night, i'm evil BOOO YAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA lmfao**

** some different stuff going on here. the first Shego POV of the story, for starters. maybe this will explain her part of things a little better.**

** we are nearing the end of this fic. there are six more chapters and an epilogue... i have to thank you guys for your unending support.**

**This chapter is dedicated to a family friend, Carmen, who lost her battle with breast cancer the day i wrote this. RIP 6/24/2012**

* * *

_"I'm looking in the mirror_  
_I'm in the middle, staying alive..._

_I'm hanging the receiver;_  
_I'll call you later, I need to save her._

_And baby, if you see her... tell her you love her."_

_~Superstition, Alexz Johnson_

* * *

The months that follow are a lot better. The ache inside me gives way to pure joy as I watch my little girls grow. I spend every waking moment (and moments where no one should be _waking_) with them. It's gratifying and healing. Today they are six months old, and they have beautiful smiles and identical green eyes. Yori Anne inherited Ron's hair. Danielle inherited mine. Yori Anne inherited my... _spirited _nature... Danielle inherited Ron's ability to 'marinate'. Han loves them and is happy to giggle with them and entertain them while I am busy cleaning or—cue cringe—cooking. That normally ends with Shelby bringing over take-out and a Blockbuster movie.

She and I are closer than ever. She moved from Lowerton to Middleton after she started teaching in Han's school. I asked her what was up with that, because I thought she liked Global Justice. She smiled and said she was on a mission, but I couldn't get another word out of her.

Han calls her Auntie Shelby now. She grits her teeth at her real name, but never objects to Hana's cute voice and big brown eyes. In fact, I think she's whipped. And I take the opportunity to mock her every time Han pouts Shelby into doing what she wants.

We normally hang out with Monique a lot, and Monique (thankfully) redid Shelby's closet as well as my own. I've lost a lot of the baby weight between she and Saul working me to within inches of my life six days a week in the Fight Club, and my own effort to eat right (which really means anything I haven't cooked). Monique is currently away on a trip to Milan after winning some contest where she gets to be a model for the summer, so it's just Shelby and I, and the kids.

It's a hot August afternoon and we're at her house which happens to be in my neighborhood. It's a gorgeous house with six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a huge pool and patio and a decent sized pool house (which she had turned into her own little training area). We're all here: Both sets of Possible twins, Han and Julian, my folks, and even the members of Team Go (less commonly known as Hector, McKyle, Shelby, Wesley, and William Goddard. The Goddard family is pretty much like Go City's Rockefellers. I suppose I should have guessed that _Shelby_ and company grew up loaded). We're having a pool party and Dad is manning the barbeque. Mom, Shelby, and I talk and laugh about girl stuff while the Tweebs play with Han in the water. My girls are sleeping inside. The Wegos split themselves into thirteen identical copies and grab one plate for everyone. Shelby rolls her eyes and Mego rants about the twins showing off. Hego shoots him a look and he finally shuts up and dully sits down to eat. The Tweebs eye them speculatively before doing their stupid Tweeb language and grabbing one of the copies before dashing off. I wonder what kinds of things they're going to do to the poor guy before they reemerge, being chased by another twelve Wegos. Shelby and I are practically rolling on the floor laughing.

"It serves them right." Shelby grins her traditional evil smirk. "Finally there are dorks that give them a run for their money! Lets see how they like those apples." After a moment, she gets up with a frown on her face. "Doorbell? I wonder..."

I follow her through the house to the front door where there stands none other than Bonnie Rockwaller. With a bikini and a towel, her three-hundred dollar sunglasses over her eyes, and a bitchy expression that makes me cross my arms and get a bitch-brow of my own.

"I heard there was a pool party. I thought I would come." She takes off her shades to glare at me. "Kim, your bathing suit is so last summer." Her teal eyes look me up and down in disdain.

I get ready to protest but Shelby just chuckles, leaning on the door jamb and crossing one ankle over the other. "This party is invitation only, and you weren't invited. And you should know that that bathing suit was sent to Kim from Milan from from close friends at Club Banana. The design hasn't even hit the runway yet and is worth more than what you probably paid for your ridiculous shoes." Shelby's expression is that evil one she always used to get right before- cough, cough- _attempting_ to kick my ass. "Actually now that I think about it, I know where I've seen _your_ swim suit before. I went to buy cereal at Smarty Mart and saw the mix and match bikini sale, buy one get one." She scoffs at Bonnie, watching her with the same disdainful look that she gave me. "You can mix but you sure as hell can't match."

"Ugh!" Bonnie stares at Shelby in shock as she flips the cheerleader off before slamming the door in her face.

After we're done laughing our asses off, I give her a grateful smile. "Thank you."

She smirks as we sit back down by the pool. "Believe me, Princess, the pleasure is all mine. I haven't had that much fun in months." She laughs so hard she has to put her drink down. "Oh my gosh the expression on her face was so priceless," she chortles.

I shake my head and lean back in my seat. In time for Jim and Tim and Wes and Will to dump cold water over our heads. We shriek at them and shove them into the pool and a splashing war ensues. I have to agree with Shelby's assessment. I haven't had this much fun in months.

We eat dinner together and Shelby handles my girls like an expert, feeding them and cooing at them. It's kind of odd when you think of her as Shego, the super bad-ass former villain turned GJ operative. But the person that tucks my girls in isn't Special Agent Shego. It's my friend, my best friend, Shelby Goddard.

Cue cringe. Imagine if she'd worked stuff out with Drakken...? She'd be Shelby Lipsky. Total Grossness.

**SPOV**

I turn off the television in irritation. There's nothing to watch and I'm restless. I get up and walk through my huge but empty house (with the intention of knocking around the punching bag in the poolhouse) and a twinge of loneliness and nostalgia tightens my chest. In a perfect world, this house would have been full of kids whose father would be my socialite boyfriend, Joey Bennett. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes. I loved him, more than I have ever loved anyone in my life.

But it isn't a perfect world, and the man who would have been my husband was taken hostage and killed by an enemy of Team Go. My world was turned upside down. I found out that he didn't want me like I want him... in fact, his two other girlfriends and child showed up to his funeral. That day I swore that I was never going to let anyone in my heart again. I swore I would never be taken advantage of again... and the next day, I left Go City, rage burning inside me that I had never felt before.

I had been contemplating going on my own for a while by then, and the money I know those criminals make was enticing to me. I fell hard and fast into the dark world of greed and evil, fueled by my grief and anger at his death and at his lies. Drew, also known as Dr. Drakken, hired me on early in my evil career. It was easy to be evil. I was a weird combination of angry and numb, and my personality got so snarky that I could rarely stand myself most days.

Then something changed, and it began with a certain redheaded teenager and her blonde buffoon, who really had no business snooping around a villain's lair anyway. The first time I saw them was because they wanted back the stupid robot tick blueprints we stole for his equally stupid nano-explosive insect army or whatever he was planning to do with it. Drakken left them to their doom with the sharks and they were in the lab not ten minutes later, stealing back the stupid blueprints. I saw her again and again, her and her stupid buffoon, who was always screwing up Drakken's plans with his sheer idiocy. They they foiled us over and over again, and it got to the point where I started expecting her to show up with her dumbass every time I heard the words "Shego, I have a new plan" come out of Drakken's mouth.

It was obvious, even back then, how much they cared for each other. As a crime-fighting team they were always solid. But personally, they were two halves of a whole. She always looked out for him first in dangerous situations, and he came to her rescue several times when she got in over her head. I always wondered to myself, bitterly, how long it would be before one of them lost the other and ended up on the dark side, lost, alone, and angry like me. The purity of their friendship and love was like salt on an open wound to me, and I hated them both. But over time, I got to know them (as one would get to know their irritating mortal enemy) and I got rather attached to Kimmie's quirks and fiery attitude, the insults and the banter that we always traded when we fought... the Buffoon's hilarious comments and distractions were always a high point of my day even when we got busted. Even their rat, the one Drakken still calls a weasel, was entertaining. Well, he was irritating when I had to chase him all over France to get that stupid chip he ate. But other than that he was a riot too.

As time went on, being bad stopped feeling good. I kept my evil smirk permanently plastered on my face, tuning out Dr. Dumbutt most of the time and filing my nails some other times... but _they _were in my head constantly, to the point where even Drew noticed. He was angrier than I had ever seen him before, and he wanted to destroy her once and for all. He had a plan that I didn't understand at first... but he kept saying he would find her weakness. And he did, and I was 99% happy about that. The light Kim brings with her wherever she goes, the fact that she literally comes off as like a crime-fighting saint, it's unsettling for villains everywhere. It was unsettling for me; I just wanted to be evil in peace... I went along with the plan. And I ended up in jail... again.

I had a lot of time to think in there. I spent some of that time hating her, _them,_ for turning my life upside down. I spent some more time wanting to wipe them off the face of the planet so I wouldn't have to think about them anymore. When I got out (Drew's cousin _helped_) I was ready to end it once and for all.

And then _she_ came. The nine-and-a-half-foot green alien that built Drakken a new lair and beat the stuffing out of both me _and _Kimmie because Drakken was apparently the 'Great Blue'... whatever the fuck that meant. I had her Kimmunicator thing, and I paged her loser to let him know she was in trouble (now if anyone's plans can achieve 'so stupid it just might work' it's _got_ to be Ron Stoppable; the idiot's plans are genuinely insane but the difference between him and Drakken is that Drakken's plans always fail) and he lured her away in a way that will sound stupid if I try to explain, and Drakken's idiocy was foiled once again. I went back to my vacation in peace... not.

What I did weighed heavily on my mind for days. Even in my mind I tried to play it off like I only did it because the alien was starting to piss me the fuck _off_. But I knew then like I know now that that wasn't true. I did it because somewhere along the line I started caring about them as if they were my own family. When that crazy hoe Electronique blasted me with that personality adjustment ray, I got to know things about Kim and Ron I wished I could forget. Not because it was off-putting or negative (although I did catch them in... _compromising situations..._ on more than one occasion, much to Ron's amusement and Kimmie's perpetual embarrassment... hilarity always ensued), but because fighting them afterward was so difficult.

And then my career as an evil sidekick officially tanked when I had to save her, my boss, and_ the world_ from the alien assholes. Life was weird after that... I talked to Kimmie often, and she asked me for help on a lot of her assignments that frankly she was too much of a goody-two-shoe to do without some help. Our relationship is rather antagonistic, actually. We spend ninety percent of any conversation being snarky or sarcastic, insulting each other, or flipping each other the bird. But I trust her with my life, although I was sure she wasn't as trusting of me. Kim might be the impersonation of light and purity and all things good, but she isn't stupid... there's no way she should have trusted me.

That was before I ended up hunting down a monkey obsessed villain who kidnapped Stoppable's sister. It was clear to me where they both stood, then. They needed me to keep that kid alive, and they trusted me to do it. It had been so long since I felt the... _rush_ that comes with that feeling, the one where you know that you're doing what's right, and that you have to keep doing what's right if it kills you.

Now I'm not so sure I'm doing the right thing. See, I see Kimmie suffer all the time now. Every day since the day we found out Ron's parents died has been a special shade of hell for her. Her pregnancy was fairly easy, from what I understand, except all of the emotional pain and having to continue to work to take care of Stoppable's sister. It's a good thing she's familiar and comfortable with high pressure, because anyone else would have lost it.

And while she's been falling apart inside, I've been with Stoppable. Well, I kicked his ass the first time I saw him, and he let me. He knew he was in for it for putting her through that kind of pain, and for some reason now I'm really protective of her and his kid sister. And I worked with him for months, setting up the same way that Drakken set me up. Getting up his credibility as a villain while trying to work in under cover GJ agents. He's stronger than I am, I have realized. Because I let myself get sucked in, I let selfishness, greed and anger consume me. He lives surrounded by it, but he still keeps his eyes on the prize with razor sharp focus. Keep Kim safe. Keep Han safe. Don't let him hurt them.

And then he told me the rest of the plan. Not only does he want to capture Monkey Fist, he wants to kill him. He almost did that day in Japan, but the sensei talked him down. If I'd been there I would have egged him on, and I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now.

I'm heading up the protection details for Kim and Hana. Since it is super complicated to get under-cover agents in a school full of children and I have a degree in education, I'm now Han's teacher. And I live in Kim's neighborhood. She thinks Ron left her to become a villain. I talk to Ron three times a week to keep him posted on her and Han, on his daughters, and on her life. I'm... _spying_ for him. On the only person who gave me a chance to be a decent human being since Joey's death.

But I know I have to do this. I saw the brokenness, the rage and the grief in his eyes. I see the iciness in his posture and I see how capable he is of doing something awful every time he clenches his fists or sets his jaw. He isn't the villain he was when he was Zorpox... not really. He has the same cold, calculating nature, the same penchant for evil. I suppose everyone has a touch of that, even Kim. But Zorpox wanted to control the world's supply of nacos, for fuck sake. Ron Stoppable wants to destroy the one thing that ruined his life, and wants to destroy anyone or anything in his way. He isn't villainous now, he's angry. Pissed the fuck off, actually.

And to keep him from being what I've become, I used my new position in Global Justice to keep an eye on him. He knows fully well why GJ is there, and he doesn't care. He wants them there, because everything he does will be considered legit. More cold, calculating use of people and power.

He looks so tired now. I remember that feeling well. The energy wasted on being angry and evil when all you really want is to just grieve your losses in peace... it's so exhausting. Not to mention he goes traipsing all over the world on following the information he's gotten about mystical monkey power and making Monkey Fist pay.

The first time I heard that he killed someone... just some stupid fool who thought he could get away with doing some unspeakable things to Kim... I went to see him. He was sitting at his desk when I got there, staring at the crime-scene photos with an cold look in his eyes.

"He would have killed her," he said to me without looking up.

I raised an eyebrow. "The reports say the man was beaten to within inches of his life and then shot execution style. A simple double-tap to the cerebellum would have sufficed."

"You're wrong," he said conversationally. "It was the last lesson that fucker ever learned, to stay the fuck away from my girl. Someone sent him, you know. And that someone learned the hard way to keep Kim out of this." He stood, still looking at his... _handiwork_... and the cold, cruel smirk that crossed his face sent shivers down my spine. "I'd do it again. I'll do it to anyone, anywhere, no matter who sent them or why. If they touch Kim or my family _ever_, it will be the last thing they do. If that makes me a cold-blooded killer, I might as well fucking enjoy it." He looked up at me then, looking more like himself. "You know, being evil isn't all that bad. Well, I guess it is bad to be evil... but whatever. I like it. I have _control_ now. Like I had control when I made him beg for his life before I shot him. It felt _good_."

I swallowed hard then, shaking my head. "You can't go rogue," I barely whispered, still freaked out by his attitude. "You have to go home to your kids, to your sister... to _Kim_. You owe them that."

His face saddened and he turned away. "I won't see them again. Kim knows what I am now, she won't want me back. I knew that could happen going into this. I will always... I'll always love her, but that will never be enough. Not anymore."

I shake my head, focusing back on my punching bag and my current dilemma. If and/or when Kim finds out that I know where Stoppable is and what he's up to, she'll never forgive either of us. There has to be a way to end this before she finds out, or before he ends up in a lifestyle he'll regret forever. He's already hiring himself out to criminals, from drug dealers to villains all over the world.

A plan forms in my head... maybe it's loosely based off Ron's current jobs, but I have to get them together and give him a chance to explain. He's going to hate this... but that's okay. He and Kim both will thank me later.

I shower quickly and take a deep breath, staring at myself in the mirror. _Ron_, I think to myself, _when you see her, tell her... tell her everything._

* * *

"You brought me here because of what, exactly?"

"Your chance to destroy Kim Possible."

He raises an eyebrow. "You were all chummy with her before. What happened?"

"Quit asking questions, _Drew_. I got you out of jail, didn't I?"

"Do I need to remind you who _put_ me in jail in the first place, _Shelby_? I thought you liked your job with Global Justice."

"Fuck GJ. We need to get this done. Do you still have Monkey Fist's contact information?"

He glares at me for a moment before going upstairs to look for it. Phase one of my plan is complete.

* * *

"Have you lost your fucking mind?!" He yells into the phone, furious.

"I have not. He's going to fax you the information. You're going to get her and I'm going to evacuate her family."

"Kim's in no condition for that kind of action. And there's no way he would trust an unnamed mercenary!" Ron is practically growling like a rabid dog. I knew he would be pissed, but damn.

"I've been working her with her friend Saul. She's in perfect shape, Stoppable," I assure him. "Do what I tell you. You already have a reputation for getting things done, he'll be happy to have someone like you, he will be sure you could keep Kim and Han under control. He's going to send everything you need, including a get away car. It might be bugged though, so do not speak to her unless you're sure you're in a secure area."

He heaves a sigh. "She'll never forgive me. Besides, I was going to wait to kill him until after I was done with the other stuff."

"You just want to spite him," I say bluntly, "And if there's one thing I've learned from all my years with Drakken is that the time you waste spiting your enemy is time that enemy has to plot against you."

"What's up with Dr. D anyway? I heard he's out of prison?"

"Eh. I needed him to get me Monkey Fist's contact information. When I'm through with him, he'll go back to prison, now quit changing the subject."

"Hold it now, wait just a second, what exactly did you do to get him to-"

"I know you, Stoppable. I'm done dealing with this and you and I both know that you're ready for it to be over too. Kim needs you, and I don't want to lie to her anymore. We are going through with this whether you like it or not."

"Shego-"

"The plan is already in motion. As soon as Monkey Fist is free he will contact you. Get ready."

* * *

"You know, Shelby, I'm glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back," I smirk. His hand reaches for the zipper of my suit. His lips are at my neck.

I try not to shrink back from his touch. It's really hard. His cold-heartedness will never change, I know it. He will always be evil... and I'll always owe Kim and Ron.

"Is everything alright, dear?"

With a smile and a deep breath, I nod and let him lead me to his room.

**KPOV**

"Mom, I'm going to get the stuff you asked for!" I yell up the stairs as I grab my jacket. It's fall again and the air is starting to sting as the semester progresses. The girls have already caught cold and I'm anxious about leaving them. "Make sure Danni has her medication! And Yori Anne's fever is up again! I called the doctor, so expect them to call back. Oh, and Mom-"

She appears on the stairs, smiling in amusement. "Don't worry, Kimmie. Your dad and I have done the twin sick babies thing. She'll be fine."

"Well, okay, but remember Yori Anne is allergic to-"

"Pork chops, Kimmie. Pork chops and parsley and onions. Oh, and maybe stop by the liquor store too."

"Mom, you guys want to _drink_ while the girls are sick?!"

"Just go, Kimmie," she says, shooing me out the door.

"I'm not going to the liquor store," I tell her as she slams the door.

The second she slams the door, a hand clamps over my mouth and cold metal is pressed to my temple. I freeze.

"If you don't want me to kick in that door and shoot whoever is on the other side, you're going to get in the car. Don't scream, don't fight. If you do, I'll kill you. If you try to run, I'll kill you." The voice is barely above a hoarse whisper.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask him.

He doesn't answer. He just grabs my arm and yanks me towards the car. I follow along in numb disbelief.

He drives away and turn back towards mom's house, silently saying goodbye to my kids and Han, to my brothers, to my parents. Then I face forward, setting my shoulders. I'm going to get out of this or I'm going to die trying.

* * *

We have been driving all night. At some point I fell asleep, and when I woke up again, my hands were in zip-ties in my lap. Now I'm tied up and I have no idea where we are. I ask a few times, but he ignores me, driving in complete silence.

I stare at my hands now, and tears well up in my eyes. I don't know how to get out of this... I don't even know where we are. My Kimmunicator was confiscated, obviously, which sucks because it has a panic button that relays my coordinates to Wade.

I sniff and wipe angrily at my face. I have to calm down, I have to think. Think, Kim! It's not the first time you've been captured by a mercenary! And it's not the first time an evil guy threatens your family either!

Well it's the first time said family includes my kids...

A fresh wave of tears pools in my eyes. I notice that his hands clench on the wheel, the white skin of his hands suddenly whiter as he glances at me briefly before returning his stoic gaze to the road. He is wearing a ski mask, the kind that robbers use when they assault banks or something, so I don't see his face. I wish I did, I wish I could see the expression on his face. It must be hilarious for him to see me, former teen hero, cry over getting captured.

We're heading into some sort of town and he pulls over in a gas station and he shoots me a warning look before taking his gun from the glove box and putting it in his belt. He hands me something before he goes and I raise my eyebrows when I realize it's an iPhone. Is he stupid or what...?

I look at the phone. It's open to a note addressed to me. _Kim. Do not speak, do not react in any way. This car is bugged. Don't be stupid, I know you are contemplating calling 9-1-1. Don't do it, you'll get us both killed. Your family is safe. They have been evacuated to a safehouse by Global Justice. Danielle and Yori Anne are fine, I swear it on my own life. There is a lot to be explained to you, and I assure you it will be when we reach our first destination._

I frown. How did he know my girls' names? Where does he get off telling me what to-

He's back in the car and I glare at him, letting him know I'll be waiting for my explanation. He reaches out and I place the stupid phone back in his hand before crossing my arms as best I can and staring out the window with a huff.

I swear I hear him chuckle in response, but he still doesn't say anything. He drives off only to stop again a few blocks later in front of one of those copy centers that allow you to send and receive fax messages. With another warning look, he disappears inside. He takes a long time, but when he comes back he comes back with food. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a Swiss army knife. I swear I hear him chuckle again when my eyes widen as he leans toward me with it. He cuts the blasted zip ties and I sigh in relief as I dig into my favorite burger and fries from McDonalds.

This has to be the weirdest kidnapping ever. He doesn't speak, he tells me my family is safe after threatening to shoot them if I don't do what he says... he works for Global Justice...? I'm so confused. Maybe my first step to understanding what is going on and getting out of this mess is figuring out exactly who this guy is.

We drive on through the town, leaving it behind at about noon. The roads are flat and empty, and the scenery stretches for miles around with absolute _nothingness_. It's terrifying, actually. The zipties are back too, and that irritates me. I already proved I wasn't going anywhere, there's no need to tie me up.

He reaches over, tentatively placing his hand over mine. I yank it away and huff at him, crossing my arms over my chest again. He just places his hand back on the steering wheel. His shoulders hunch ever so slightly and his jaw clenches.

"Are you ever going to talk to me instead of pretending to care?" I snap at him.

His grip on the wheel tightens so much that his knuckles turn white. The wheels screech as he slams on the breaks and parks the car on the side of the road. I gulp... oh great, now I pissed him off and he's going to kill me. The second he gets out of the car, I book it. Even with the blasted zip ties, I manage to open the door and bolt for the woods as fast as my legs will carry me. I stumble a few times, whimpering in fear as I hear him behind me. I pick up my pace, focusing on running and not tripping. He's getting closer and I can feel panic rise in my chest again. The path through the trees begins to descend, and I hear him curse under his breath and pick up his speed, moving lithely over fallen trees and through brush. I bite back a yelp as I feel his hand grip my arm and yank me to a stop.

"Fucking hell, Kimmie," he mutters under his breath.

"Kimmie?" I spit at him. "You don't know me, don't call me that and let me the fuck go."

He smirks, pulling off his mask. "Fair enough, KP. But if you wanna keep running, it's ah... it's a long way down."

I briefly glance at the very very steep descent before glaring at his face. Ron.


	19. Splainin

**gweetings earflings xP welcome back. i'm glad you guys liked my little cliffie from the last chapter. here's your little... erm, what do you call the chapter after the cliff hanger? whatever, here's the next chapter, enjoy! you guys get three posts today yay! there's this chapter, another as a thanksgiving present, and an outtake that will be posted on my profile, having to do with... well, you'll see. it's not exactly happy, so i'm also giving out free kleenex on my profile page xP**

**without further ado...**

* * *

_"Ron! You got some 'splainin to do!"_

_~Kim, Kim Possible Episode 53, "Emotion Sickness"_

* * *

**RPOV**

Her expression is one of complete, almost insane fury as recognition lights her face. In the next second she tackles me to the ground. I wince as she hits me again and again, but I don't stop her. Shego was right, she's in perfect shape considering we just ran two and a half miles in ten minutes... and considering every time she lands a punch it's bruising me. She's nearly hysterical in her anger and tears fall freely from her eyes as she screams about me leaving her and then pulling off this stunt. Shego was out of her fucking mind to think up this one, that's for sure. Ugh.

I try to get her to calm down and start blocking some of her blows... mostly the ones to my face. Part of me thinks I should just let her beat the stuffing out of me, and the other is focused on the goal which is to finally tell her all the whole truth and end this mess... and Monkey Fist.

When she finally stops screaming at me, she curls in a ball, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I needed you," she whispers brokenly. "I needed you and you weren't there."

My chest tightens and my gut ties itself into a tight knot. I swallow hard. "Kimmie, I—"

"Why are you doing this to me? What about my family? You're going to turn me in to my enemies because of what...?"

"Kim," I begin. My voice breaks over the word and I start over. "Kim, I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I had to leave like that. I promise you that you're going to get the explanation you deserve... and I promise that I would never _ever_ hand you over to anyone. Everything I've done since the day I left has been to keep you safe."

She snorts, but stays silent.

"Kimmie... please let's get out of here. We can still get to the hotel by night fall and then I swear I will tell you everything."

She looks up at me in disdain. "You held a gun to my head and threatened to kill my family. Did you actually think I would willingly go with you?"

I stare at my hands. "That was necessary for the people that were watching. This had to look like a real kidnapping."

"Why?"

I smirk at her. "Come with me and I'll tell you. I have all the evidence in the car."

She glares at me before getting to her feet. "One more thing," she growls. "Get these stupid things _off_!"

I have to laugh as I cut the zip ties off her wrists. I would have been pissed about those too.

The two mile walk back to the car and the drive into the town where the hotel is is spent in complete silence. It isn't an uncomfortable silence. She's lost in her own thoughts and stares out the window most of the time. Occasionally she glances at me, sometimes with a tentative smile and sometimes with an angry expression. We stop at some run down diner and she goes in the place with me. We eat in silence and she walks back to the car ahead of me, still seeming incredibly pissed off.

I try my hardest to be patient with her, because I know that it's been difficult for her since I've been gone, and I know this sudden uprooting is hard for her too. I feel bad for manipulating her in the beginning, when I first took her. I lied about the people watching... I just knew that the only way she wouldn't fight me (and probably win) was if she thought there was a chance of Han or Danni and Yori Anne being harmed.

Danni and Yori Anne seem to be on her mind too, because her expression now is one of utter sadness and anxiety. It makes my chest tighten painfully again, especially when her wide, tear-filled emerald eyes fix their sad gaze on me. "Are they really... are they really—"

I silence her with a finger on her lips, letting her know that the car is bugged. Her eyes widen in fear but I shush her. I hand her the iPhone again instead and she types her thought on to it. I read it and answer with a nod. _Shego evacuated them literally moments after we left the driveway,_ I text back. Her expression is frightening. _She knew about this?!_

I nod slowly, typing to her to let me explain everything when we can speak. She chucks the phone into my lap and glares out the window for the remainder of the drive.

We get to a hotel at about seven at night and I check us in under an alias. When we get to the hotel room, it has only one bed. I set my stuff down on the couch and she sits on the bed, glaring at me. "Explain," she commands me.

I sigh and sit down next to her. "KP... the night of the funeral, I got a package."

"You _left_ me... pregnant, by the way... because of a _package!?_"

I set the contents of the package in her lap and she stares in disbelief for a moment before turning away in horror.

"Look at the pictures, Kim."

She shakes her head and clamps her hand over her mouth.

I spread them out on the bed. "Look at them," I growl at her, "look at them all."

She shakes her head again. "I don't want to," she whispers.

I turn away from her. "Those are the less... graphic ones. There were more, but I..."

She picks one picture up, tracing it with her fingers. "How long did they follow us? Why didn't I notice?"

"I don't know, KP."

She puts the photo down and turns away from the others with a gag. "They..."

"Like I said, those are the less graphic ones. The pictures came with a warning. He said he was coming for you, next. It was on a Post-It note... on this picture." I hand one to her. She gags and runs for the bathroom.

I rub her back while she heaves and sobs. When she's finally under control again, her face is set in grim determination. "What do we have to do?"

I lead her back to the bed. "When I left home, I did it to lead him away from you. I was angry, KP, angry like I had never been before in my life. All I could think after I left was that I wanted to choke the life out of him with my bare hands and rip him to shreds. All that anger... it would have ruined us both anyway," I tell her, looking away. "I decided to focus all that rage on finding him instead. I've destroyed a lot of the stuff that has to do with the mystical monkey power with the information we got from Yori's research."

"Wait, wait. Who is we?"

I look away. "I spent three months in Yamanouchi, just after I left. Then I went to Shego. She involved Global Justice." She scowls at Shego's name, and I shake my head. "Please don't be angry with her. She's been through a lot... and if it weren't for her understanding of what I've been through, I wouldn't have been able to stay focused on this... I would be exactly what we fought for so many years."

Her shoulders sag. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She couldn't, Kimmie. No one believes that you would date a villain. And you're a horrible liar, admit it." When she nods grudgingly, I continue. "The only way for my plan to go after the monkey power was to become a mystical monkey villain."

"That makes sense," she says neutrally. "But I know you. You did it to piss the monkey freak off too."

I nod, conceding the point. I liked spiting him. "And then I had my other identity, the, uh... _hired help_ guy. And Shego came up with the idea of getting Monkey Fist to hire me... to get you. He said he wanted you alive, which is great because I never would have hurt you anyway."

"And here we are."

I shrug. "Here we are." I smirk. "I told her she was out of her fucking mind."

"I guess that makes two of you."

I laugh. "Yeah I guess." When I look at her again, her eyes are alight with mirth and there's a small smile on her face. I reach out impulsively, and my fingers brush her cheek. God I missed her.

The smile falls of her face and she leans away from me. "Ron..."

"Listen... please just listen. I know I deserve for you to hate me. You don't know how much it killed me to hear how poorly you were doing... and then they told me you were _pregnant_, and I wanted to just fuck it all and come home. I couldn't do that, KP, because of those pictures you saw. The day any of this happens to you will be the last day of my life. I couldn't come home, because Monkey Fist—and then the girls were born and all I wanted was to be with you, and I couldn't. Oh, and Shego told me about that douche you were dating. That killed me. I had someone pay him a visit after you left that restaurant in Upperton, you know. I'm sure Saul told you."

She frowns in confusion. "Saul said he got mugged in an alley—you're kidding, right?"

"Maybe a good friend of mine told him _politely_ not to call back."

She glares. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because he hurt you with his disease-infested idiocy." I chuckle. "Did you really tell him that his lady friend was only good for sucking his disease-infested dick? I knew you had it in you, Kimmie," I laugh.

She smirks in response.

"Did you... did you, you know, sleep with him?"

She glares at me. "Not that it is any of your business, but no. I never slept with him or anyone else."

That makes me feel better.

She stands up, crossing her arms over her chest. All I can think is that her post-baby boobs are fucking awesome. She glares when she catches me staring at them. "You're an ass."

I shrug. I know that's true.

She turns away, her hands falling to her sides in defeat. "I can't be with you, Ron."

I grab her hand, turning back around. Selfish _bastard_, Ron. You ruined her life and saddled her with two kids and your sister, and you want her to just forgive you?

Yeah. Yeah I really do.

She tries to pull her hand away from me, but I keep my grip, standing with her. I step forward and her breath hitches. She steps back.

I smirk.

She glares and tries to push me away. I grab her hands, stepping forward again. She flattens herself against the door, and her breath hitches again. I lean towards her and her eyes flutter closed. She gives another unconvincing protest when I press my lips to hers. Her breathing picks up as I step even closer. Her body feels good against mine.

"Please don't," she begs in a whisper. "I can't."

"Why not?" I whisper into the skin of her neck, enjoying the way her pulse is racing against my lips.

"You'll hurt me," she whimpers. "You'll leave again." she pushes against me weakly, but I know that if she really wanted me to back off I would have landed in a heap on the floor by now.

"I'm not leaving you," I tell her seriously, stepping back. "Even when I was gone, I was still looking after you."

"Bullshit," she snaps.

I raise an eyebrow. "Did you ever wonder where all your medical bills went? Or how the house was clean and the utilities set up by the time you moved in, or how the old apartment got taken off your hands so easily? Did you wonder where Shego went the day you gave birth? She went to call me, and I grilled her on every single detail I could think of until she got tired of my ass and hung up on me."

She lets a tiny chuckle escape. "She would do that."

"Kimmie, I—"

"You don't get to _Kimmie_ me. Not anymore! Just because you were paying bills that I didn't ask you to do doesn't mean—"

"I took care of you as best I knew how under the circumstances," I growl at her. "Next time I'll just do nothing and let some miserable fucker come do unspeakable things to you. I'll let him use our girls for leverage, I'll let him kill Han and take over the world. I'll sit by and watch, and see how you feel about that."

She sighs. "Ron, I—"

"I will always love you, Kim," I say sincerely. "I know... I know that you're hurt and angry." I swallow hard, staring at my hands. "I know that there's a big chance that... you and me are over for good." I keep a tight control on my voice, pushing myself to continue. "But I still love you, and I still have to keep you safe. I still need to keep... Han... and Danni and Yori Anne... I owe you all that." I take a deep breath, and it ends up being really shaky. "I... I know that I—"

"Wait. Ron, I don't... mean to sound ungrateful," she says quietly. "I just need you to know that what you did for us... it doesn't change the pain that I went through... or the pain that Han went through."

"You think I don't know that?" I ask her with a humorless chuckle. "You think it doesn't kill me that my own anger blinded me to any other options of getting rid of _him_? Ones that didn't include being without you forever? Do you think I don't hate myself for that every _moment _for hurting you?!"

"Ron, I—"

"I knew this could happen."

"Will you shut the fuck up!" she hisses at me. "Will you let me finish speaking?!" I raise my hands in a gesture of surrender and she continues speaking, crossing her arms and making her boobs look amazing again. "Ron, I never stopped loving you... I just have them to think about now, too."

"I know," I smile up at her. I reach for her hand, and she tentatively places it in mine. I stare at our hands for a long time before I speak. "We're going to be okay," I tell her, and tears spring to her eyes. I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her. Her body is warm against mine and her arms squeeze me close. I can feel everything inside me healing, all my own grief and anger melting away at her warm embrace. It's overwhelming, and I feel my eyes watering in response. God she feels so good.

"I missed you," she chokes out.

"Me too, Kimmie," I answer sincerely, pulling away and taking her face in my hands. "I missed you so much. I love you."

Our lips meet, our bodies mold together, and our souls are reunited. I'm never letting her go again.

**KPOV**

The morning finds me fully rested, warm, and comfortable. There were no nightmares last night, nor were there tears, nor singing a crying child to sleep.

He's not in bed and I sit up, carefully wrapping the blanket around myself so that I can find him.

Not that that is necessary, because he emerges from the bathroom in nothing but a towel and a smirk. "Don't need to cover up, baby," he grins.

I just stare at his body, my mouth gaping. Part of my mind is noting exactly how toned he is now, and the tattoos that cover his back and torso. Most of my brain is focused on the scars. There are scars everywhere. The art covers some of them, but most of them are plain. Angry pink marks or extra pale white flesh that makes me wonder if he didn't get some of those scars before this whole sitch, even though I never noticed them before.

He watches me, his eyes curious. "What is it?"

I reach for him, still unable to speak on account of the sudden golf ball lodged in my throat. He sits next to me, and his hand brushes my cheek. "Kimmie?" he asks, his voice suddenly anxious. "What's wrong, baby?"

I reach out and touch the pucker mark on the lower right part of his chest. I know there's a matching one on his back, because I saw it before.

His face relaxes a bit. "They are just scars, KP," he says gently.

I shake my head. "No, they are not... _just_ scars. They are... you got hurt!"

He nods, smirking. "I would say that you should see the other guy, but seeing as how it was more or less a duel, there is no longer another guy." He get's serious. "Baby, I'm okay, I promise—" he stops short when I lean over and kiss the scar. His eyes are questioning.

"Don't get hurt anymore, okay?"

He smiles, pulling my blanket away from me and hauling me into his arms. "Okay."

Hours later, we're checked out of the hotel. He told me earlier that the place we were supposed to meet was another eight hours out, and we discussed exactly what he was going to do. He 'regretfully' informed me that I'd have to endure the zip ties once we got closer to the destination, for the sake of appearance. He stared at his hands when he told me he would have to use the gun again.

I told him I trusted him, and the smile he gave me in response was blinding.

Now we're close, and he silently pulls over to the side of the road and comes around to the passenger's side. He opens the door and squats in front of me. In his hand, two zip ties. He brushes my cheek in apology and I give him a weak thumbs up.

Once they are on, he checks me to see that they aren't too tight. I give him another thumbs up and he mouths that I'm a good sport before getting back in the car. He also puts his mask back on. I can see his demeanor changing, subtly. He hasn't moved at all, except to drive, but the Ron that got in the car is not the Ron that is driving now. The Ron that is driving now is Ron the vengeful hitman that will do anything to get what he wants.

We get to some sort of air strip with a hangar and he parks the car. He gets the gun from the glove box. That thing always frightened me, so I'm glad I don't have to try too hard to look scared. He comes around to my side of the car and I step out, tentatively.

He backs me into the car, pressing his body against mine. To anyone watching, the action is entirely threatening. "It's showtime," he says in my ear.

"I'm okay," I tell him.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I trust you," I murmur back.

His hand wraps tightly around my arm, and the coolness of the barrel of the gun in my side makes me tremble. He propels me forward and murmurs in my ear. "They are going to put you inside the plane. Don't fight them, I will come get you when it is over."

Part of me is infuriated. I'm not incapable of—

"Trust me," he whispers. "This is a side of me you don't want to see."

"You _are_ good!" a regal voice with a heavy British accent says. "I see you've brought what I asked for."

Ron nods behind me, pushing me forward again with the gun.

"She looks afraid," he smirks. "I've never seen her that frightened before. I like it." He pauses and clasps his hands behind his back. "I should have asked you to bring me that buffoon, Ron Stoppable too. I would pay anything to see him cowering in his boots like that."

Ron's chest vibrates with laughter, and I have to try really hard not to smirk.

"He would have... _enjoyed_... the plans I have for his little girlfriend. It's a shame her family got away."

Ron shrugs noncommittally, but I can feel more than I can hear the rumbling in his chest as he suppresses a growl. He points me towards the plane with his gun. In the spirit of acting, I pull away from him anxiously. He glares and yanks me towards the plane. I struggle again as he pulls me toward it. Monkey Fist watches in cruel amusement.

"I'm sorry," he whispers in my ear. "He's watching, I have to do this. I won't hurt you." Then the barrel of the gun is at my temple.

My breath leaves my lungs with a whoosh and I stop struggling with a gulp. Ron walks me inside and seats me. His _employer_ applauds him. "Well done, hit man. Well done. The world of villainy will be pleased to discover this first of Kim Possible's weaknesses. I plan to discover the rest of them when we reach England."

His sardonic eyes watch me, and I glare at him.

"Don't be so confident, Miss Possible. I am sure that your boyfriend's friend, Yori, would have loved to sit and talk with you over her experiences as my apprentice Fukushima discovered _her_ weaknesses as well. Unfortunately, as well you know, she is unable to be here."

I hear Ron flick the safety off on the gun. He points it toward the back of Monkey Fist's head, and his hand trembles so slightly that anyone else might have missed it. He removes his mask to reveal his face, contorted with rage. Monkey Fist rants on and the pilot seems to be already warming up to take off.

I have to get off this plane. Ron seems to agree, because he suddenly presses the barrel into Monkey Fist's hair. "Tell your pilot to turn it off." His voice is low and commanding, and it sends shivers down my spine.

I can see the freak's eyebrows (or eyebrow) shoot up in surprise. "Well if it isn't the man himself, Ron Stoppable. I'm glad you are here," he smirks, turning to face Ron and his gun. The barrel is at his throat now, just under his chin.

"I'm not afraid of you," he says.

Ron's expression hasn't changed from one of deep seeded anger and hate, except the smirk he now sports. He cocks the gun and I cringe. I really don't want Monkey Freak's brain matter all over me...

"Tell him to turn off the plane or I'll shoot you and him both."

"The man has a family, Stoppable, would you kill him?"

"My family is dead because of you and your idiots. So no, I don't particularly give a fuck about his family."

"I thought you were a good guy," Monkey Fist smirks. "Some hero."

Ron shrugs and digs the barrel of the gun deeper into his skin.

Monkey Fist hisses but doesn't protest. The plane is taxiing now.

I start knawing at the zipties. I have to get off this plane. Ron subtly guides the freak's attention away from me. Well, if subtle means shoving Monkey Fist towards the front of the plane. He tosses something at my feet and I realize it's the knife he used to cut off the zipties. I reach for it and cut at them desperately. I get them off as I hear the first gun shot. I duck, cringing at whatever must be going on. The plane stops and I force myself to calm down.

I officially fucking hate planes, I decide to myself as I look for an exit that isn't the one Monkey Fist and Ron are at now.

The Hairy Freak streaks back into the cabin and grabs me by my hair. I fight him automatically, and his hand loosens it's grip within moments. He's bleeding somewhere, and I realize Ron must have done something to him.

He's getting weak. I kick him and he flies into a seat, unable to stand anymore. Ron towers over him in an instant, the gun pressed to his head again. "Kneel," he commands him.

I gulp. Monkey Fist kneels.

"Any last words?" smirks Ron.

Monkey Fist's response is to glare up at him. There's a flash and Ron hisses in pain. The freak jumps to his feet and attacks again with what I realize is the knife. Without thought I tackle Ron out of the way. There's searing pain across my back and Ron's eyes widen in horror before setting in determination.

Monkey Fist will die here.

The knife is red now as it comes at me. I instinctively block, ignoring the burning pain in my arms as it slices through my skin. How I manage to disarm him, I'm not really sure; the whole thing is a bit of a blur, and my vision is starting to get hazy. Ron tells me to get off the plane and run, and I make for the door.

I try to take inventory. My arms are bleeding, and I think maybe my back...

**RPOV**

What a cheap shot, I gripe to myself. The asshole stabbed my leg. I'll make sure to shoot him in the foot before I shoot him through his empty head.

He swings at me with the knife again as Kim stumbles for the exit. Now that she's safe I can focus—

"I've got you now, Stoppable." His stupid knife digs into my neck and I try to get out of his hold but end up cutting myself. The gun flies out of my hands and I curse again. He stares at me smugly. "Did you really think your little revenge plan would work?"

"It will work," I growl at him, but his knife digs into my neck, cutting me off.

"You're so stupid. Did you think I wouldn't find out about your multiple villainous identities? Did you think I didn't know you would come after me? I've been waiting for you, Stoppable."

"You didn't know, or else you would never have hired me."

"Wrong again. See, I knew you would try something like this. I had a heads up of my own. A _friend_ of mine called me up and told me that he had heard a conversation between his girlfriend and a certain blonde buffoon."

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about?!"

"What, you don't think Drakken can tap his own phone lines? He's an idiot but he is no fool."

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Because Shego _isn't_ an idiot, and she isn't a fool either. If you think she hasn't figured out your stupid little plan yet, put a bullet in Drakken's empty head and arranged back up for me, then you are very mistaken."

"Well I guess we'd better get going then, don't you think?" He smirks as he walks toward the cockpit. He leans over and grabs something. I realize with horror that it's Kim's hair. She's not conscious... shit, she didn't even make it out of the plane! Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. This is not good.

He heaves her onto the ground, kicking at her viciously. He hauls her to her feet again, but this time, she responds.

Two gun shots ring out and Monkey Fist crumples to the ground. I look around. Where the fuck did that come from? Talk about a magic bullet...

"Ron..." Kim slumps into the wall.

Holy shit! Did _Kim_ shoot him? She's sitting against the wall with my gun in her lap. Her fingers are red and sticky from her own blood and she's shaking slightly.

"KP!" I cry, dashing to her side. She's got cuts on her arms from blocking the knife, and she's got that other one on her back too.

"My ears are ringing," she whimpers.

"You've never fired one before, have you?"

She shakes her head.

"Normally you wear earplugs or headphones... to block out the intensity of the sound."

"Well I'm sorry I was more preoccupied with you getting yourself killed than I was with finding some fucking earplugs. Next time I'll make sure I go look for some first, okay?"

I chuckle at her. "Same old Kimmie."

She flips me off.

I take off my shirt and tear the sleeves off, using them for a species of bandage to stop the bleeding on her arms.

Monkey Fist moans. I take my gun from Kim's lap, warning her with a smirk to cover her ears. She does, and I stand over him, making him stare into the barrel before I pull the trigger. I watch with satisfaction as his stare goes blank. Blood pools behind his head, and I drop gun on his chest.

"Was that really necessary?" Kim asks with a grossed out look in his direction.

"It was, for several different reasons. One, you shot him in a lung and he was suffocating to death... I thought it would be nice to put the son of a bitch out of _my_ misery. Two, several people have had to take away the lesson that you were not to be fucked with. It was the last lesson they ever learned, and Monkey Fist was not exempt from... taking my class."

She glares dully at my smug look.

"Three, this plane is going to blow, and it takes all the fun out of everything if everyone gets a shot in except for me." I pick her up bridal style and hurry out of, and away from, the plane. I set her down on the tarmac and tell her to lay flat on the ground and cover her ears (I tell her the last part with a teasing grin and a warning about permanent hearing loss. She kicks me but does what she's told).

I gleefully light a few well placed matches. The cabin quickly catches fire. I run for it. An equally well-placed bullet makes the plane a spectacular display of fireworks for a moment before it burns into oblivion, taking its dead owner and pilot with it.


	20. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

_"...this is exhausting, you know? Like we are never getting back together. like... ever."_

_Taylor Swift, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together_

* * *

**SPOV**

I hang up the phone after giving Ron his directions and I lay down, waiting for Drew to come to bed.

I hate this charade... I can't wait till I Ron calls so I can end this and throw his sorry ass back in prison. I don't love him... not anymore. Now I can't seem to be able to control my disgust for him... everything he stands for, everything I used to stand for. I hate him. I hate this life.

Maybe I like being a badass... okay, I _definitely_ like being a badass... I like the thrill of breaking into places, I like the adrenaline that comes with a good fight... I like all that stuff. But I realized eventually that I can do that anywhere... it doesn't necessarily have to be evil. The things that Drakken has planned since he's been back are not only ridiculous, they are also hideous displays of heartlessness that I've never seen before. I've tipped GJ off to his most recent scheme, and they'll take him off my hands soon.

"Shego?"

"Yes, darling?" I ask with sweetness that I have to work awful hard to falsify.

"Who were you talking to on the phone just now?" Drakken asks. His voice is falsely conversational, and my guard is instantly up.

"Not that it is any of your business, but I was talking to my brother."

He raises an eyebrow. "Your... _brother_."

"Yes," I spit at him as he gets into bed.

He leans in like he's going to kiss me, but then there's a knife at my throat. "And your brother's name is Ron?"

Did he really think he could pull this off? I have to laugh as I let my hands ignite and he yelps in response to the heat. "Yes. My brother's name is Ron. Ron Stoppable, you've heard of him. He and Kim have been more of a family to me these past four years than even my own blood, and you know it's the damn truth."

"You betrayed me and put me in prison once," he says more to himself than to me. "How did I trust you again?" He glares up at me from his spot on the floor where I blasted his sorry ass into next week. "Oh, that's right. I _love_ you!" He gets up, fuming. "You heartless bitch. You used me to help _him_! After everything we shared... I thought you really wanted me." He looks dejected by the end of his rant and I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

"So you've always been an idiot then. Did you really think we had a chance after you tried to, not only ruin my career, but also use your stupid mind control thing on me?"

"But Shelby—"

"Don't you fucking _Shelby_ me," I hiss at him in fury. "I'm not heartless, _you_ are! You got what you wanted, Drakken! World recognition, everyone who heard your name thanked it for the fact that they were still breathing! You were making good money and you were helping me with my GJ stuff... and _we_ were happy. And then all of a sudden you're building a mind-control ray? Why? What in the _fuck_ could make you destroy everything we built... everything you worked to achieve you got! What more do you need?! Tell me damn it, make me understand!"

He stares at his tiny hands. "Shelby... you're one of the smartest people I've ever met. How is it that you and people like Kim Possible can be content being told what to do by people who aren't half as smart as you? Even the Buffoon grew into his own. How is it that he is still content being only a _sidekick_? People like you... are at the top of the food chain. And you... you don't deserve to be someone's tool, someone's employee... you deserve for everyone to obey and listen to _you_. That's all I've wanted. If I could ever conquer the world, I would give it all to you."

The air around my hand stings with the cold after the fire in them dims into oblivion. "Drew... I don't need the world. I don't need to be... evil or whatever. My needs have changed. See... you know how I was when you met me. I became bitter and unsatisfied with anything... because I had nothing. And then I had this reputation as a badass evil chick working for a man who wants to take over the world... and I had my revenge on the people that killed Jason... and I was _feared_. And I liked it. But it wasn't what I needed. What I need is... what I need is peace, and I found that in an annoying as fuck teenager and her buffoon. They grew up, and they reached out to me even though they had every reason to hate me as much as I hated them. They were accepting and well, equally annoying, they were completely unselfish and open minded with me. They allowed me to change, they helped me change, into someone I can stand to look in the mirror at, directly in the eye, and be proud of. I never needed to conquer the world, Drew. I just needed to conquer myself."

He turned his back to me. "And I've been too blind and self-absorbed to see this."

"Conquering the world was _your_ dream. This is my dream. Being with people that care about me and being able to pay back all the wrong I've done. Getting my life back. That's my dream."

He hung his head. "Am I going back to jail now?"

"We'll see about that," I answer with a smirk.

"Will you ever love me again?" His voice sounds really... tortured. It makes my chest tighten a little bit.

I draw a deep breath. "We'll see about that too."

"I told Monkey Fist about your plan."

"I know. But Ron is... he'll be just fine. I'll get some agents to go pick them up."

**RPOV**

The entire time the doctor is stitching my leg, Dr. Director is berating me about something or other. I blew up the plane which had evidence, I blew up the plane, I went in without back-up, I should not have shot Monkey Fist... blah blah blah.

The entire time the Director is ranting, Kim is sitting on the next bed in nothing but her bra and a smirk on her face while someone works on the mark on her back. She's blatantly laughing at me and I'm going to get her back for it... later.

Her arms and one hand are sewn up too, and I realize that she had to cock the gun without looking and that doing that had cut her hand, in the most annoying place to have a cut ever (you know, that area on the back of your hand between your thumb and the rest of your hand that hurts like a bitch with a drug problem when you cut it). She lost a significant amount of blood, and they did a transfusion and some saline to make up for it. I'm also making her drink water and eat that fucking disgusting hospital jello.

I ask her for like the ten thousandth time how she's holding up.

"Dammit Ron! I'm okay! You asked me that five minutes ago. The bag of saline hasn't even run out yet! Just chill, okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I answer with my arms raised in surrender.

"You will be," says the Director. "I'm tired of cleaning up your mess, Stoppable. I understand that you had to go on a rampage after your parents died and—"

"Okay listen very carefully, Betty," I seethe at her. "I killed that _asshole_ because he had a knife to Kim's neck. I killed him because he threatened to hurt her, and my children. I killed him because he is the reason my close friend got tortured to death. _Tortured_, Dr. Director. He kidnapped my sister with the intention of killing her too. My first priority is my family, and I'll kill whoever the fuck I have to to keep what's left of it. I don't care about the mess you have to clean up! I don't give a flying fuck about crime scenes or evidence. I have all the fucking evidence I need, and whenever you're done ranting about all my mistakes I'll show you just why that bastard and everyone he's ever worked with is burning in the special place in hell I had prepared just for them. You _knew_ what my plan was from the beginning so do NOT get on my ass about this."

Kim raises an eyebrow at me. "Ron, calm down. We're all okay now."

"Yeah, no thanks to—"

"Stop it, Ron. The Director made her resources available to you. Try to relax, let the doctor finish fixing you up okay? I want to go home."

"Oh no you don't! You two are being debriefed the second you sign out of here."

I level her with an icy stare that would have vaporized her if looks could kill. "Kim's had a long week. She needs to see her children." My voice is equally deadly. "I'm taking her home, Director, and I expect that we won't be interrupted while we are there. I'll set up an appointment for early next week and Shego will join us for debriefing then."

Betty Director stepped back. "Uh... A-as you wish."

"If you'll excuse us," I tell her with a smirk. She glares at me and stalks out of the room, muttering.

Kim glares at me. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes, Kimmie Dearest, it was."

She glowers more.

"Okay, no it really wasn't but she was starting to piss me off."

She smirks. "Starting to?"

"Look, I don't need to be reminded of all the mistakes I've made. I'm very well aware of them, thank you very much, have a snake!"

Her eyes sadden. "I'm sorry, Ron. I know this has to have been difficult for you... you know how Dr. D is when she's stressed about how she's going to do something. Give her time. She's gunna clean it up and get off our case like she always does."

"You're right I guess... I just... I'm ready for this to be over now."

"It is over, Ron."

"No... no it isn't. As long as there is stuff out there that belongs to this... mystical monkey power... I'll never feel like its over."

**KPOV**

"I thought we were going home?" He tells me where we are going and I frown. I lift the small plane into the air with ease. I missed flying.

He smiles at me. "We are... although home for you and your folks is a private island Shego owns off the coast of Greece. For a while anyway. Until this mess cleans up and all the threats to you and the girls have been eliminated."

"You had us put in protective custody on an island in Greece?!"

He grins. "Nah... I just told her she better find some place safe to stash my girls before I pulled any of this shit off. She told me that the Doctors P were due for a vacation anyway. She has it under an alias... she didn't tell me which one, but no one knows she owns this joint. Perfectly safe."

Many hours later, we're landing on an airstrip on a beautiful island with pristine beaches and rocky, tall mountains. Well... two rocky, tall mountains. The rest of the island just has trees and beaches. It looks like something out of a movie.

We walk along the beach for a while, hand in hand, the waves licking at our toes and making sand stick to our feet. We're both quietly absorbed in our own thoughts. My thoughts are for my girls. I miss them immensely and I feel like every nerve in my body is a live wire. I need to see Danni and Yori Anne... and I need to see Hana. I need to see for myself that they are okay.

Ron watches me. The sunlight makes the honey color of his eyes sparkle even brighter. I've missed those eyes.

"What are you thinking, Kimmie?"

"Just that... I really need to see my girls. All three of them."

He smiles for a moment, then he stops, turning to stare out at the water. "Thank you, Kim. For taking care of Han."

"Ron... you know I love her as if she were my sister too."

"You had every reason to say she was abandoned and dump her in foster care. Especially after finding out you were having the twins." He smiled at me. "I'm glad that you didn't."

"I wouldn't! I love her and I would have kept her no matter what."

"Calm down baby," he chuckles. "I know." He looks down at his feet. "Does she hate me?"

"She misses you immensely."

He looks out at the water again, and I can see tears gathering in his eyes. "I miss her too."

"Then lets get going."

When we get close to the beautiful beach house that is nestled amongst the trees, I'm amused to find my mom lounging on the deck with a drink and a book. She jumps to her feet immediately. "Kimmie! Oh baby, we've been so worried about you."

I chuckle. "Yeah I can see that. How's vacation?"

"If this is protective custody, you should get yourself in trouble more often, Kimmie," she says with a smirk.

Ron speaks quietly. "Shego says you guys are welcome here any time."

Her eyes widen comically and her jaw drops. "Ron?! Is that... is that you?" then she chucks her drink at him. "I can't believe you have the nerve to show your face around here!"

Ron glowers at his wet, sticky t-shirt and says nothing. I'm too busy laughing to come to his defense, and he glowers at me, too. He doesn't say anything to mom as she yells at him, though. I figure it's time to calm my mom down.

"Mom, it's fine."

"Fine? He _left _you here, pregnant!"

"He and I are working things out, Mom."

She looks at me like I grew a second head. "You're kidding... right?"

"No... he did some explaining. They are his kids too, mom, and he has the right to know them."

She deflates. "Okay but you better sleep apart unless you want James to put him in a deep space probe."

"I'd like to see him try," Ron mutters to himself with a smirk. Out loud, he merely says, "I'm glad to be home, Mrs. Dr. P."

Mom's eyes mist. "Oh honey... come here." She wraps him in a huge hug and consequently, her shirt is wet and sticky too. I just laugh. It really is good to be home.

* * *

It's the middle of the night. Ron stayed with me anyway, even though the lecture he got from my dad was long winded and mostly irrelevant, and did involve several mentions of black holes and foreign galaxies and frigid temperatures and lack of oxygen and so forth... he subtly told my father off in a way that had Mom and I laughing for hours, and had poor dad scratching his head.

The Tweebs tackle me when they hear us, and I squeeze each of them close to me. I know it's only been a few days, but it was intense and felt more like a year. I missed their insanity. After a long time of talking, lecturing, my brothers launching food during dinner, laughing, and bonding, we retire for the evening. Sometime during all the chaos Han woke up from her nap and launched herself at Ron, knocking him over. The tough exterior Ron has built around himself finished melting away as he held his sister for the first time in two years. It was an emotional sight for all of us. He didn't let go of her for the rest of the night, either.

Now, I'm wide awake, even though he must think I'm sleeping. He slips out of bed and presses a kiss to my temple before walking quietly down the hall. I follow him as he checks first one room, and then another. He tentatively steps in and I stand silently at the entrance as he reaches into a crib and picks up one of my little girls. She snuffles lightly and snuggles into him, and tears spring to both of our eyes. "That's Yori Anne," I state quietly.

He acknowledges the name without looking up. I step into the room and take her from him, and he looks at me questioningly.

"Don't you want to meet Danni?" I ask with a smirk.

He smiles widely and reaches into the other crib and picks up Danielle. "They're so..." his voice cuts out and he simply stares at his daughter.

"I know," I whisper.

"I never meant to hurt them," he chokes out.

"I know. You kept them safe... I'll never thank you enough for that."

He watches Danni sleep for a moment. "She has your hair."

"Yeah and she has your incredible 'marinating' talent," I add with a chuckle.

"That's my girl," he whispers into her hair with a small laugh of his own. Then he gives me a smug look. "I guess that means Yori Anne inherited your... _intensity._"

I flip him off and he gapes at me. "In front of the kids!" he hisses with another smirk.

"Oh shove it."

He kisses Danni's forehead gently and places her back in her bed. "I love you," he whispers to her, tucking her in gently.

I tuck in Yori Anne again and we go back to our room hand in hand. He sits on the edge of the bed, staring into space. "Dear God... I have kids," he says breathlessly. He looks up at me, his expression mixed between awe and utter bewilderment. "I have... kids! Baby girls, alike as they can be."

I smile at him. "They will love you, I know it."

"I already love them," he says quietly. "I... I have for a long time. I still have pictures of the... I mean, the sonograms. Shego would get copies of them for me. I framed them all, in my... I guess the equivalent of my office." His eyes shift uncomfortably. "Kim... I'm not the same. I'll never be the same."

"I know," I tell him. "I gathered that during our little... trip."

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Kimmie."

I shrug. "I've had worse."

"Can you love me like this?" He whispers, and tears spring to my eyes.

I swallow hard. "We can work this out. We can, and we will. I can't... I won't let you walk out on me again."

"I'll never walk out on you again," he answers back. "I let my tragedy get in the way of us."

"I loved them too, Ron," I whisper. "I still miss them. I still remember the dark, cold, awful place I found Han in... it still haunts me, too." I sit next to him, taking his hand. "It was our tragedy. We were supposed to be happy. But instead we got all of this."

He stares at our hands. "I wish I'd been better at letting _us_ handle it... together."

I shake my head. "We have different ways of dealing with things. Seems we have suffered a bit of role reversal," I chuckle.

"Yeah, a little bit," he laughs. He kisses my temple gently. "I love you so much. Thank you for giving me back my family."

I pull back the sheets and he slips into bed. I do the same, and we curl into each other. It feels like it always did... perfect.

**RPOV**

Sleeping next to her these past few days has been magnificent, blissful, and amazing. I wish it were that way when she is awake...

"What the fuck, Ron?" She hisses at me so that the rest of the family won't hear. "Why didn't you tell me that you had to leave again?!"

"Kim... I told you it wouldn't be over until... until all of _that stuff_ is gone."

"And how long is that going to take?"

"As long as it has to," I hiss back at her. She's starting to piss me off. "Look, I get that you're anxious about me going again."

She scoffs and puts her fist on her hip. Shit, now I'm going to get it. Nothing good happens when she puts her fist on her hip. Fucking sexy angry redhead.

"... last time you took off to 'take care of some business' you were gone for two years and became a bonified criminal! You're damn right I'm fucking anxious!"

"I'm not _really_ a criminal, KP, baby. I had to act the part."

"Why?"

I shrug. "Mostly to piss off he-who-shall-not-be-named. But it also had to do with the fact that most places in the world weren't going to be nice and just let me _take_ the stuff. It had to be done a bit more forcefully."

"Oh that's great. So you're going back to stealing and robbing banks and getting yourself shot and whatever the fuck else you've been doing?!"

I'm not going to win this... I'd better quit while I'm ahead.

* * *

I get up early and fix breakfast for everyone... something I haven't done in a long time. It feels good to stretch my culinary muscles again. Han wakes up just as I finish the last of the waffles and plate the chopped fruit. I take her down to the beach for a few to play with her. I missed her. After a few minutes, the twins come crawling along too, and I have tons of fun with them. Kim watches silently, a small smile on her face. It's the first time in days I've seen her anything other than angry or tense. I pick up the twins and go up to the deck where she's standing. The sunrise makes her hair glow even more red than usual and I take a minute just to watch her. God, she's so gorgeous. I missed her.

"You're still going through with this?" She asks quietly.

"I'll leave tonight after I tuck the girls in," I answer.

She draws a deep breath and then her eyes are on me. "If you leave me here... you aren't coming back."

"KP I'm not going to just leave you here. I'm not going to do just that... I need to make sure it is safe for you guys to come home. I'll be in contact, every day. Always." I take her hands in mine, looking into her eyes. "I promise, Kimmie. I'll come back for you when it's over."

She removes her hands from mine and turns her back. "I don't think you understand what I meant. I mean, if you leave tonight... I'm not going to take you back."

My jaw drops. "Kim are you... are you fucking kidding me with this shit right now?!"

"No I'm not, Ron! Global Justice is perfectly capable of taking care of this! You just want to leave out of some sick revenge sitch that's still going on in your head."

"You're right that this is personal, KP. But I'm the lead operative on this assignment. I am Global Justice... for this assignment, anyway."

"I'm going with you."

"Hell the FUCK no, Kimberly Anne."

"You think I'm not capable of being on a mission now?" She crosses her arms.

"I didn't say that at all. I did chase you two miles in a bit less than ten minutes. A five minute mile is impressive, by the way. I've never seen you run that fast before. I know you're physically and mentally capable of doing missions if you wanted to do that. I just can't have you on this one. They are hunting _you,_ remember. You and Hana. You're better off here, making sure everyone's safe... both strategically and for the sake of my own sanity. Please, don't push this. Okay?"

She sighs and grits her teeth. "Fine... do what you want. You always do."

I grit my teeth too. "I don't _want_ to leave."

"Then stay," she begs, turning to face me. "Please, please stay."

I put my arms around her, squeezing her as close to me as I can. After a moment, her arms circle my waist. "You better come home soon," she whispers into my shirt. I realize that she's crying.

"Don't cry baby. I promise I'll talk to you every day. I promise I'll be home as soon as possible... I swear, I _swear_ I'm not leaving you. Never again."

**KPOV**

"Hi, Kimmie," he says quietly, a tired smile on his face. His eyes are jaded. I wish he'd let this go already. He smirks. "I know what you're thinking and I'm fine."

I curse under my breath, sending the chat from my Kimmunicator to the computer. "Ron, I'm telling you we're all-"

"Kim, can we please not argue today?"

I sigh. Every since he's been gone again, we can't talk five minutes without bickering about something or other. He said that Global Justice used all the robberies as an excuse to say that the stuff he's looking for is 'dangerous and can be used for mass destruction' so most things have been handed over. However, he still has had to... _forcefully_ _remove_ some of the more valuable things, like this one statue he almost got himself killed over last week after hacking through the jungle for days without any way to contact the outside world. And he was still nursing a god-awful gash on his leg when he went out two days later! I swear sometimes I wonder just how much lead paint he was exposed to as a child...

"Kim, I know you're frustrated and anxious and—"

"Look please don't do the whole 'I know how you feel' thing right now. I can't handle it."

He looks away from where he's sitting, and I can see him gritting his teeth. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"That you'll come home."

His shoulders slump a bit. "I'm sorry I'm putting you through this. I promise, I'll come home. I'll be back before you know it."

"It's been more than a month. You didn't even call for Thanksgiving—"

"I told you I had something that needed to be done."

"You're out on all these assignments and the Han cries for you and I have no idea what to even tell her! You're gone and none of us are at peace."

He's quiet. He has no response for that.

"Christmas is in two weeks. Will you be home?"

"I will do my best," he says tiredly. Then he grits his teeth again. "If that's not good enough for you then I'm sorry. Maybe your boytoy Saul or his douchebag brother Dylan will—"

"How dare you, Ron?!" I growl at him. "How dare you insinuate something like that?! You left me! This is _not_ my fault! You fucked this up on your own, Ron. You spent our last week together being an asshole... and I tried to be understanding, because I know what you went through that week is unspeakable. Then you, drunk off your ass, by the way... God, and I was stupid enough to let you, too. I stupidly thought you just had to get it out of your system and that you'd be okay, but I was wrong. You used me for sex. You fucked me into next century and then you took off in the morning, never to be seen or heard from again. How do you want me to feel, Ron? Do you want me to do a fucking happy dance?! I can't do that! I'm tired of letting myself get hurt because of you. You know what..." I stand and turn away from the computer so I don't have to see his face... and maybe it's so that I don't lose my nerve either. "This isn't working."

Silence.

I swallow hard and then I continue. "It's not working and Han and the girls see us arguing and they get upset. I'm tired of it and I know you are too. Maybe we should just face facts. It's over, we won't work out. We tried. I can't... I'm not even over the last time you were gone, and now you're gone again and I can't handle it. I refuse to put myself through this hell again."

More silence.

When he speaks, his voice is barely above a whisper. "Maybe... maybe you're right. I knew this could happen. I'm sorry that... I'm sorry I... fuck. I'm sorry I hurt you." He clears his throat and his voice is now icy, almost unemotional. "Goodbye, Kim."

The line disconnects. I bury my face in my hands.

* * *

**oh you didn't think it would be that easy, did you? you guys should know you better by now... hmm. so, this marks the end of the um... segment, i guess, of this story. now comes the long awaited, CB-has-no-idea-how-i'm-going-to-pull-this-off reconciliation.**

**anyway, i hope your thanksgiving is frickin fantastic, i hope you all enjoy your families and have turkey-induced comas and shop at the ass crack of stupid o'clock in the morning, and all that other stuff that happens on turkey thursday. let me know what you guys think about this so far :) **

**~temporary insanity**


	21. Down

**mmkay so welcome back guys. thanks to everyone who reviewed this as well as the outtakes.**

**we're back and it's post 'I Hate You' which was a tough piece to write, and totally depressing. Ron's temper got way out of control and he said something he really didn't mean. after he lost the custody battle, some... _stuff..._ came up, so some time has passed in this chapter and he is coming home again, to Middleton, but he needs a place to stay.**

* * *

_Can you hear when we call?  
Where were we fall?  
Standing our backs against the wall.  
At the top of our lungs, how far we've come  
where pain and love bleed into one ;  
All that we need, it's so bitter sweet  
The pain that opens our eyes to see  
Baby when all you see is darkness...  
We all need forgiveness..._

_~Mat Kearney, Down_

* * *

**SPOV**

"What do you want now, Captain Underpants?" I open the door to find my favorite buffoon standing dejectedly in the rain.

"For fuck sake," he mutters, not bothering to glare at me as he flips me off. "Look, I need a place to stay a while until I find an apartment."

I sigh. Stoppable is a fucking _idiot!_ "You dolt," I tell him with a smack to the back of his head as he walks through the door of my house. "Wait, does Kim know you're staying here?"

"She doesn't need to know jack shit about me or where I'm staying. I'm letting her stay in the house, paying her fucking utilities, giving her child support, she kept my sister...what the fuck else does she want?"

I raise my eyebrows. I didn't realize the break-up was so hostile. "I'm asking because she broke up with _you_, not me, asshole. I'm not getting caught in the middle of you two. She's already pissed at me as it is."

He sighs and his shoulders slump. "I'm sorry... I didn't realize it would cause problems between the two of you. I'll book a hotel—"

"No no. Come in. You're my friend too, you know," I tell him honestly. "You can stay here as long as you need. By the way, the girls have rooms here, so if you get weekend visitation or whatever—"

"That's... really sweet of you." He pads through the house and rummages through the fridge for a beer. "Hey thanks for letting me stay."

"Make yourself at home," I tell him sarcastically, and he smirks.

We hang out on the couch in silence for a while, each of us with a beer. "What happened?" I finally ask, because I'm bursting with curiosity. Last time I talked to her she refused to say anything on the topic and hung up on me after calling me a traitorous bitch. I guess I deserved that... I mean, I knew that knowing where he was and side-kicking for his plans would put me on her shit list.

His shoulders slump. "I don't know. We were okay at first. I thought maybe there was a chance I could earn her trust back... but then you and me had to go back to finish what we started and... every single day, I'd call her, or she'd call me, and we'd argue. Sometimes it was over something stupid, sometimes it was over my _missions_... she stopped saying 'I love you'... she wasn't happy, and for once in my life no amount of joking or buffoonery or kisses or sweet talk could put a smile on her face..." He sighs. "She started talking about 'if I were back home this' or 'Saul and I that'... and the day we broke up I might have insinuated that she was better off fucking that pansy anyway..."

"You idiot! Did you seriously say that?" I smack him in the back of his head again.

"I didn't mean it," he says dully. "It just fucking stings to be talking to your girl and her her go on and on about some other douche. Especially 'cause sparring was always our thing, you know?"

"Your thing?"

He grins sheepishly and his cheeks turn a light pink. "Well we always were training together and stuff... and she used to wear those fucking tight yoga pants or whatever with those tops she likes to wear, the ones that end just above her rib cage... and then she'd get all sweaty and flushed, and her hair would stick to her neck and it'd be so sexy..."

"Okay, tooooooo much information!"

"Sorry."

"So you got jealous that she was turning on some other unfortunate douche and not you?"

He shrugs.

"You really are an idiot," I tell him, my voice full of sarcastic amazement.

"Shut the fuck up," he mutters.

"You're such a gentleman."

He looks thoughtful. "You know, maybe I was at some point. But did you really think that would actually last?"

I chuckle. "In retrospect, probably not."

We're silent for a while before he speaks. "I miss her." He wraps his arms around his knees, and he looks almost like the insecure buffoon he was in high school. I watch him with a mixture of sadness and anger. He shouldn't be like this... this lonely, this broken. He should be happy with a hot redhead crime-fighting cheerleader for a wife and his sister and his daughters.

"Does it get any easier?" He asks me, his voice hoarse.

My fists clench. "Oh it will." It will if I have to kick Kimmie's ass from here to Lorwardia, wherever the fuck that is.

* * *

"Open this fucking door, Princess, before I break it!" I've been knocking for a good ten minutes. Or maybe it's more like banging and threatening to kick it down. Whatever, I know she's here but she's ignoring me.

"Stop cussing and go away before I call the cops!" comes the furious answer.

"Kimmie I've got plasma and I'm not afraid to use it! Open the door."

She finally opens the door and steps out side. Her gaze is icy and her fists are clenched. Her breath is coming hard. "What are you doing here?"

"Amp down, Cupcake."

"The hell I am!"

"Oooh. Look at you, taming your tongue. You know you edited that." I smirk at her, deciding to tweak her a bit. She's hilarious when she's pissed.

She glares and her fists clench again. "Get the fuck off my property," she hisses at me.

I smirk again, casually letting my hand ignite as I lean on one of the posts of the porch. "Actually, it's Stoppable's property. And we need to have a chat about him because his moping is seriously pissing me the fuck off."

She growls, and her eyes flash. "He's staying with _you_?" She gives a humorless chuckle. "Of of course he is! Son of a bitch left me to go destroy things with you, didn't he?"

"Don't fucking talk about him or his mom that way," I hiss at her. "You don't know anything about what he's going through."

"And I don't care," she spits viciously, making for the door. "You two deserve each other," she says before attempting to slam the door.

My hand, still lit, stops the door. "I don't think so, baby cakes. You and me are going to settle this."

"How about hell the—"

"Kimmie, who's at the door?" a small voice asks, and my hand flames out with a whoosh.

"Nobody important, baby girl," She says to the little girl behind her. Then she turns back to me. "Nobody at all," she says quietly, and then she closes the door.

I sigh and sit down on the steps, letting the rain drench my hair. That went well.

**KPOV**

I make sure the girls are all ready and all their clothes are packed. They're spending the weekend with Ron, and I'm getting some much-needed R&R.

Ron. What I can't believe is that the asshole had the nerve to file for custody of Hana. The court smacked him down, obviously, but still. Why would he put her through a custody battle? _He's_ the one that left her. She's perfectly happy with me.

It makes me sad sometimes... that a lifelong friendship and a love like we had could end with so much hate. I miss him.

That doesn't mean I don't hate him. Just thinking about him makes my blood boil. Him and— "What are you doing here?"

"Ron is on his way home from a mission. He asked me to pick up the girls."

I glare at her. She's the other one that makes my blood boil. I thought of her as a big sister, as a friend... and it turned out that she was in on Ron's little revenge plan. Now she's his babysitter? "What, are you fucking him now, too?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she snarks at me. "Look, I get that you're pissed at him and at me, but these girls don't need your negative energy and your bullshit. Now hand 'em over, he's going to be back in half hour and I'm taking them for ice cream."

"I'm not letting my kids go anywhere with you."

"Auntie Shelby!" I grit my teeth as Hana runs out the front door and into her arms.

"Hey, sweetie," she says into Han's hair. "You being a good girl and helping Kimmie take care of little Danielle and Yori Anne?"

She nods emphatically and I have to smile. The girls are fifteen months old now, and they walk and giggle and are a tiring handful, but I couldn't be happier with them. Hana tells Shelby all about their latest escapades as she skips to her car and hops into her booster seat.

I grit my teeth again and try not to seem angry as the twins wobble their way down the porch steps and towards Shelby's car. "Pop the trunk?"

She finishes putting Yori Anne in her car seat and pushes a button on her key chain. I settle all their things inside and go around to say goodbye to the girls. "I love you," I tell each of them before kissing their foreheads.

"Lub Mama," Danni says with a giggle as I gently tickle her tummy. Yori Anne plants a sloppy kiss on my cheek. Hana wraps her arms around my neck. "I lub yew, Kimmie," she says to me.

"I love you too sweetheart. Behave yourself for Ronnie, okay?"

"Okay," she says, but she isn't smiling anymore.

Shelby, who's been watching the whole thing, gives me a meaningful look. "They're tired of this, Kim. They are just kids but they see the tension between you and Ron."

I stare at the ground. She's right... just because I hate him doesn't mean they have to suffer for it. I draw a deep breath. "Maybe I should take them myself," I hear myself say.

She squeezes my shoulder and motions me to the passenger's seat. We drive in silence to the ice cream shop, and we eat and help the girls eat in silence too. They are getting restless, starting to pick up on the tension between us. I force myself to relax. Seeing him won't be that bad... we managed to make it through the girls' first birthday party without murdering each other.

"He loves you," Shelby says quietly. "He hates this as much as you do."

"He doesn't love me," I whisper, staring at my hands. How could he, after all the awful things we've said to each other?

"Look... you guys don't see this, but I see it... Monique sees it... you guys tear at each other, thinking only that the other person hates you, and then you both go home and bleed, because you both love each other. Just... stop fighting. Stop making each other's life hell, because at the end of the day, you're the miserable one."

I study my nails, picking at them absently. "How did we come to this? We were best friends. Being with him was like... breathing. Simple, easy, almost second nature."

She smirks. "It still is. You just need to stop being so abrasive."

"_You_ wanna talk to _me_ about being abrasive?!" I hiss at her. "Pot and Kettle much?"

"See, there you go, you're already getting your panties in a twist. Amp down, Princess."

"Do you mind not being so crass in front of them?" I cross my arms.

"Sorry. Look, how long are you two going to hold—"

"Auntie Shelby? 'scuse me," she adds sheepishly.

She smiles at her. "Yeah?"

"How come yew call Kimmie 'Princess'? Can I call her that too?"

"No," I answer, and Shelby laughs. "Kimmie and Ronnie and I used to not be friends. I used to call her 'princess' to make her mad." she puts a finger on her chin and smirks. "Still do, actually."

"Ugh."

"Ronnie!" Hana jumps out of her seat before I can protest and makes a mad dash for the door.

"Hey Hana Banana," he says, swinging her around and kissing her cheek. "How's it hangin' baby sister? Did you eat your ice cream?"

"Yeah! Kimmie said I could have—"

"Kimmie?" His voice hardens. "Kimmie is here?"

Her enthusiasm dissipates. "Uh huh, she came with me 'n Danni and Yori and Auntie Shelby," she says quietly. "I sowwie, Ronnie."

He puts her down and I stand.

"Um... I'm going to clean up here. Why don't you guys get the girls settled in Ron's car?"

I take Shelby's keys and he picks up Yori Anne while I pick up Danielle and we head outside. Hana tells Ron all about her week and he smiles the entire way to the car.

I settle Danielle into her seat and kiss her and tickle her. "I love you baby girl, I'll see you soon."

Ron settles Yori Anne into her seat and I kiss her and tickle her too. "You be good for daddy, okay? I love you."

Hana hugs me and climbs into her seat. Ron settles her in and I kiss her forehead. She kisses my cheek, and then Ron closes the door.

"Why are you here, Kim?" His voice is flat.

I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I just... I wanted to see the girls off, that's all. I wanted to... see you."

He's quiet, and I look at him. He's studying me, and it makes me feel flustered. "Why?"

I swallow hard. "W-well... it's just... Shelby... she says that the girls pick up on when we're upset at each other which... these days is like, always... I just want us to at least be try to be civil. I know..." My hands are really interesting all of a sudden. "I know you hate me," I whisper, "but I don't want the girls to feel like—"

"I don't hate you, Kim." His voice is still flat, but there's something in it that I don't understand.

"No, you just treat me like shit," I say, my voice sharper than I intended. I relent. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

"I don't know why you're here, but whatever you're planning, I've had enough. I get that you hate me, but for fuck sake, I can't lose anything else." He clenches his jaw and stares somewhere behind me.

"I don't... I don't hate you, Ron. I'm... I'm sorry. I just... I shouldn't have come," I mumble, more to myself than to him. "I thought we could do this without hurting each other. I was wrong... I'll just go." I step back and wave, tentatively. "G-goodbye, Ron."

He doesn't say anything, but he surprises me by brushing my cheek. "See you around." He gets in his car and pulls away.

My cheek tingles from his touch.

**RPOV**

My fingers are still tingling from the feeling of her skin. Why on earth did she go to the ice cream parlor? Did she really want to see me? I thought she hated me.

She thinks I hate her. I've never heard anything so ridiculous. Oh God, _I told her_ I hate her...

The girls are asleep and I put them down in their rooms in my three-bedroom apartment in downtown Upperton. The lease ended on the place at USC and I let it go. I got to see what Kim did with the room that Han slept in... it was really beautiful. The room now belongs to another little girl, and she loves what Kim did with the place.

Her room now is just plain. Pink and white, with white curtains. Pink bedding and such. In my defense, I'm no decorator. I might have Monique come up here and help me make her room look good.

The twins sleep in another room. I was so inspired by the color of their eyes... it's done in a peaceful sage green and pale wood floor and matching cribs. I spend a lot of time in here actually. The girls smell pretty, and their scent keeps me calm, much like Han's does.

The phone rings. "How ya holding up, champ?" Shego's voice is a mix between genuine concern and sarcasm.

"I'm... confused to hell," I answer honestly. "I thought she hated me."

"You know Kim better than anybody, Ron," she says in annoyance. "Does she ever _hate_ anyone?"

She's right about that. And she would know, KP was just as vicious when she told Shego she hated her the time Drakken used toy robots to try and take over the world.

"She loves you."

I shake my head, even though she can't see. "No... I ruined what we had. I knew it could happen. I... told her I hated her." My stomach twists as I remember her face that day.

"Why in the _fuck_ would you do that?!"

"I was angry. She was angry. We argued."

"You two are the most stubborn—" I hear her muttering curses under her breath. "You guys have so much passion still. I'm not letting you guys give up everything I—"

I wait a beat. "Everything you... what?"

"Everything I wish I had," she says quietly. "You guys have a chance at the happy ending I never got. Jason cheated... and then he died. I never got to break up with him, or fight with him, or make up with him, or... anything. He died, and I had to deal with double the emotions on my own. You guys... you guys still have a chance to be with each other and fix this if you'd just get over yourselves and stop all your stubborn bullshit!"

"Whoa, cool it, Green Lady," I smirk.

"You need to hurry up and fix your stupid problems so you can make up and fuck and get married and make more little Stoppables and live your lives."

"It's not that simple."

"Isn't it? You love her. She loves you. Maybe what I need to do is crack both of your thick skulls and burn it into your brain with a laser." I hear the whoosh of her hand flaming on. "Actually... hmm."

"Amp down, Shelby," I smirk.

"Admit it! You guys were always meant to be together. Your stupidity excluded, what's the—"

"I get it okay? I love her and I miss her but she's hurt because I hurt her, okay? She's not just going to get over that. I tried... I tried giving her time, but now all we do is argue and I don't know how to make it stop." I heave a shaky sigh. "I want her back. I don't want our girls to have to split the weekends between us or... feel like they have to pick sides... or feel like their family is all fucked up. I want them to be happy. I want Kim to be happy. I wanna marry her, and wake up with her every day until we're gray and wrinkled up like prunes. But I don't make her happy, I... I hurt her. I cause her pain, and that won't change regardless of how we love each other."

"You big idiot. All you have to do is stop hurting her."

I huff in irritation. "Yeah, how do I do that?!"

"Go the fuck _home_, Stoppable. And stay there!"

_click._

* * *

On Saturday, I take the girls to the park and play with them on the swings and the slides and they get sand all over me and in their hair when they play in the sand box. I buy them hot dogs and cotton candy and they are all dirty and sticky when they get home.

It is in times like these that I thank God that Kim is such an amazing mother. They are all cooperative and quiet as I bathe them and they chatter happily when I give them their dinner. They are practically drooping with exhaustion when I tuck them into bed. I read to them, and they giggle when I make silly voices until they pass out.

I grab a drink and am about to sit down when someone knocks at the door. Who could be here at... "Kim?"

"H-hey."

"A-are you okay?" I rub the back of my neck and try not to stare. This is soooo awkward.

"Um... yeah. There's a... well, there's a gas leak... at the h-house. A-and I never sleep well without the girls anyway."

I motion her into the apartment. "You... ah... you hungry? I made the girls some cheesy mac."

She smiles tentatively and shakes her head. Her hair is curly today, and a soft curl flies about her face when she moves. I want to touch it.

She clears her throat, moving toward the couch. "Um... they're asleep?"

"Yeah, I just put them down. Hana might still be awake though... you never know with that girl."

She chuckles. "Do you remember the time we were babysitting her because your folks were out of town on one of your dad's speaking things? We went to put her down and not even ten minutes after she 'fell asleep' she was climbing the walls in her room."

I laugh. She was a year and some change old when that happened. She wanted Kim to sing to her that night, and after we put her to sleep we went to the living room. We were... making out... and I remember specifically the heat of her skin on my hands, to the point where even now my palms are searing as I remember it. And then there was a crash... and we both ran upstairs to find that she had knocked her crib over and was running a mile a minute around the perimeter of her room... on the ceiling.

We talk a lot of the night. It is sort of awkward at first, but we relax as she starts telling me about Danni and Yori Anne. I'm fascinated by the way her eyes light up and how excited she seems as she describes their first steps, their hilarious moments... the moments of their life that I missed. She is so gorgeous.

And now she's watching me. Watching me watch her. We stare at each other in silence for a long time. She reaches for me slowly, and I watch her warily. Her arms wrap around me and her body curls into mine, almost instinctively. "I miss you," she whispers into my shirt.

I squeeze her close, my chest tight and my throat blocked. "I... I miss you too, Kimmie."

"You do?"

I nod.

"But you said... you said you hated me."

"I was angry," I tell her. "I didn't mean it. I... I'm so sorry," I choke out. "KP I never... I never hated you. I..."

"You... what?"

I let out a shaky breath. "Nothing," I mumble, guiding her head back to rest on my chest. "Doesn't matter anymore."

The silence that follows that statement is heavy and awkward. When she looks up at me again, her eyes are shining with tears. "Can we just... be friends?"

I sit up, squeezing her as close to me as I can.

"Please... Ron, we can't be like this anymore. I... don't want to live like this anymore," she begs.

"Please don't cry," I whisper. "I know... I know I hurt you a lot. Too much."

"It doesn't matter," she says, a hint of impatience in her voice. "We can do it, we can fix this. We have to."

"I'm not so sure," I mumble to myself. I fucked everything up, and I myself am like fifteen different levels of screwed up.

She's shaking her head. "You've forgotten, haven't you?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," I tell her, watching her face.

"Anything is possible..."

"For a Possible," I return with a short chuckle. "I'm not a Possible. I'm just... your fucked up ex boyfriend."

"Anything is possible for a Possible... and for Team Possible. And we have to be that again."

"We haven't been a team in—"

"We are," she insists, "and we're on our biggest mission yet. This is the most important mission of all time. We have babies," she breathes. "Our mission is to take care of our babies as best we can. I can't..." she draws a shaky breath and a tear slips down her cheek, clinging to her chin. "I won't do it without my partner."

I wrap my arms around her again, my fingers tangling in her soft hair. She's right. We can do this... we can fix our friendship. If not for us, then for our girls.

We can do it, I tell myself. I can stop coming off so damn hostile all the time. I can take care of my babies, and I most definitely trust her to do the same thing. We need each other, we need our team mojo back. It won't be that difficult... will it?

* * *

The morning finds me with a crick in my neck, a warm pressure on my chest. I open my eyes in alarm and see red. Well... red hair. All in my face and in my mouth. We must have fallen asleep talking last night. I stretch a little and she shifts, a soft sigh passing through her lips. I slip out from under her, moving her so her neck isn't uncomfortable, and then I shower. I have to call about that gas leak thing today... ugh, it's Sunday, they might not even fix it until tomorrow morning.

I fix pancakes for everyone, and when I turn around to put them on the table, she's sitting there watching me. She flushes deep red and I suppress my laughter. "You always used to watch me cook," I chuckle.

She blushes again. "I thought it was sexy."

I just smirk at her.

"A-are you... I mean, are you going to finish your degree?"

I shrug. "I don't know. A lot of that is up in the air. It depends... Shego wants... a permanent partner in GJ, and I'm thinking I'll take it. Maybe. Or I might just go back to school in Middleton. I'm not sure." I rub my neck and sit down across from her with a sigh. "I want to be here for our girls. They are my first priority. If I can't do the GJ thing and see them regularly... I don't think I'll do it."

She stares at her hands. "That's very... very mature of you."

"What about you? How are things at Middleton U?"

"I graduate next May," she smiles. "I got a bit behind... you know, when the girls were born... and I had to drop all my campus classes and do online ones... and I did part time last semester too... so I should have been graduating in December but I've been a bit sidetracked."

"I'm happy for you," I tell her, and it's the truth.

She smiles brightly. "Thank you."

"When you finish, what are you thinking?"

"Well... I'm thinking that I want to apply to the FBI. It's less demanding than GJ... you know, because of the girls. I don't want to be gone all the time. There's an FBI headquarters here in Upperton."

I'm proud of her. I know they'll see her resume and probably jack off to it at night. Gross, but true.

Han bounces into the kitchen and squeals when she sees Kim. "Kimmie! Hi! Ronnie took us to the park!"

"Did he?" she smirks at me. "How did that go?"

"It was... enlightening," I say blandly, and she bursts into laughter.

"I guess I'll still be washing sand out of Yori Anne's hair tonight then."

I roll my eyes. "And grass stains out of Danni and Hana's pants."

"Ugh, are they by any chance white?"

I frown in confusion. Who cares if Han's pants were white?

She shakes her head. "I'm glad they had fun... but next time, please no white pants. I'm a crime-fighting cheerleader, not a miracle worker."

I laugh. "I could have sworn that 'crime-fighting cheerleader' is synonymous with 'miracle worker'," I tell her with mock astonishment.

She rolls her eyes at me and helps Han cut her pancakes.

After everyone is fed and cleaned, we go to the Possible house. The Tweebs have been dying to see Hana and the twins.

"Ron, hi," smiles Lady Dr. P. "Come in, sweetheart. I just made lunch."

"Oh we just ate, but thanks." I follow Kim in and the Tweebs, now much taller than her, engulf her in a huge double bear hug.

"Put me down guys," she wheezes. When they realize they're squeezing the stuffing out of my girl, they put her down. She reaches up and musses their hair. "Hey guys." She lands a sloppy kiss on Jim's cheek and he makes a face as he wipes his cheek with his sleeve. Tim escapes her, but only barely.

"Ugh, you got your lipstick on me!" Jim gripes. Then he's off to play soccer with Hana.

Tim gives her a piggy back ride to the deck in the back, and I watch the Possible family interact. I've done it a thousand times before, but this time it's different. This time, I'm on the outside looking in. This time I'm not... part of it.

I've never felt more lonely in my entire life.

"Are you alright, Ron?"

I nod at Dr. P. She watches me for a moment. "You will always be my son," she says quietly before disappearing into the kitchen.

How in the fuck does she do that?!

"Ron?"

"Oh, hey." I rub my neck but she just smiles at me.

"Come join us?" Her eyes widen and her bottom lip juts out just a little bit.

I let her drag me back out to the deck and into a seat. She curls up in my lap and falls asleep.

* * *

It's dark out when the door bell rings. Kim stretches and pads through the house to answer it, but Tim dashes past her and yanks open the door. "Hey," he beams. A pretty dark haired girl reaches up and kisses him.

"Hi," she breathes.

I look down uncomfortably when he leans down and kisses her again. Kim smacks the back of his head and tells him to take it upstairs before coming back outside.

He merely glares at her and goes back to kissing his girl.

Damn... I wish I had a girl. No, I wish I had _my_ girl.

Jim smirks. "Are you going to watch Sophie and my brother make out all night or are you going to hurry up and put the moves on my sister? We all know you're going to get back together, just get it over with."

"Gee... thanks." I glare at him dully. Everyone seems to believe that we should just hurry up and get back together. Why do I feel like it isn't that simple?


	22. Lead Me

**welcome back guys. i gotta thank Levi2000a1 for helping me with this chapter. my beta has been extremely busy, and so i've been posting most of my updates un-betaed for a while as you guys know. Levi graciously gave me a ton of helpful advice and helped me edit this chapter to fictional perfection, so mega thanks to him. be sure to check out his story, which i think is complete or about to be complete, Broken Hearts, Broken Minds, and his Monkey's Tail trilogy. **

**i'm very excited about this update so i won't bore you with any more of my talk. enjoy the chapter... it's the longest one yet, actually.**

** cheers!**

**~temporary insanity.**

* * *

_Lead me with strong hands,  
Stand up when I can't.  
Don't leave me hungry for love  
Chasing dreams..._

_And what about us?_

Show me you're willing to fight,  
That I'm still the love of your life.  
I know we call this our home  
But I still feel alone."

_~Sanctus Real, Lead Me_

* * *

Shelby and I have been hanging out again. It was strained at first, but as time has gone on, we've gotten much closer.

Ron and I... we're still awkward. He and I talk, alot, and we argue a whole lot less. We made the talks on the couch a bit of a habit; Saturday nights, whether he has the girls or not, we can invariably be found laying around at his place or mine, talking about the girls. We laugh about their craziness, or we ask each other how to handle certain situations... it has made being on the same page as parents a lot easier, and it's helping set our friendship back on track. He still takes them on every other weekend and sometimes he takes them on weekdays too. I don't really care, I mean, I care, but i don't mind... he's their dad, he can see them whenever he wants. Well, dad and brother.

Shelby has done extraordinarily well in Global Justice and is gone a lot, but she's home often enough to hang out with me, or Ron, or the the girls and I, or the girls and Ron... she refuses to hang out with the two of us, though. She says it's too awkward and we harsh her chill.

Recently she's been making a lot of stops in Greece again, and I ask her if she's screwing that masseuse guy Midas again. She just smirks.

"Wait, what about Drakken?"

She sighs, collapsing onto my couch. "Dr. Director isn't going to do anything... you know. And he um, he said that he won't keep me... from living my new dreams."

I sit down next to her and put my arms around her. "I'm sorry."

She smiles sadly. "I have shit luck in the love department."

I snort. "There's a club for that."

She shakes her head. "First I lost Jason... now I lost Drew. I'm not going to get over Drew. I know it."

"You say that now but—"

"Are you over Ron?"

"Well... but that's—"

"Do you or don't you still love him?"

I stare at my hands. "More than anyone," I answer quietly.

"So you can't really finish that sentence, can you?"

"I will get over Ron," I growl at her.

"You know you won't. You don't want to get over him."

"Will you fucking stop? This isn't about me."

"Amp down, Cupcake. You are the only person who knows exactly how I feel right now."

I don't answer that.

"You know what the difference between you and me is?"

"What?"

"You still have a chance to get him back. You'll always have a chance, because you have his babies and he'll never love anyone but you. Me... I'm the cop and he's the robber. I enforce the law, and he's in jail for breaking it. He's going to be in jail forever and I'm going to spend forever wishing I'd never set him up." She looks away, but not before I catch the glistening in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" I ask softly.

"I um... I broke him out of jail. And then maybe I told him I wanted you and Ron dead, and that we were teaming up with that monkey-obsessed lunatic to kill you."

"And?"

"And I... well I had to make it believable!"

"What did you do, Shego?"

"I told him I was going evil again... and we were back together... briefly."

My jaw drops. "Shelby! Are you telling me you _slept_ with him for information?"

She shrugs.

"You did that because..."

"I did it for you, okay?! For the first time in my life I have... well you were always so... I don't know." She sighs in frustration. "You know where there is darkness, there can't be light. I always hated you because we were the darkness... and you were the light. You were the kind of light that's... like daylight, pure daylight. Everyone who knows you will say the same. You always knew what you believed in... you always knew what you wanted. And that was always something good, or noble, or whatever. Even that stupid bimbo Bonnie envies that about you. She's self-centered and shallow, and no one will every want her for her because of that. You on the other hand... you're like a candle, or a flashlight. You just... naturally bring light with you wherever you go.

"Ron is like that too, in a different way. He's just... I don't know. Hilarious, stupid... I don't know. He always knows how to lighten any mood, any situation. I literally lived for the moment when you made your heroic appearance and he'd stumble in behind you, doing or saying something stupid. His buffoonery was guaranteed to have me smiling, or laughing at him, or something, you know? And then he showed up at my door, asking for my help... and he showed me all the photos... _all _of the photos... and he looked so... I hate what this has done to him. And to you. I hate that all my life all I wanted was the kind of security you guys have always had... and now some monkey freak comes in and tries to destroy it... and so cruelly too... and instead of fighting it and bringing that light you always have, you're letting it beat you! You have everything I've ever wanted and you're throwing it away."

I just gape at her. Then I frown. "He showed me some of them... there was one or two of... Yori." I shudder, trying to erase that horrible image from my mind.

"There were sixteen pictures of Yori."

"What was on the others?"

"Kim... trust me on this. You don't want to poison your mind with what was in the rest of that package."

I decide to take her word on that. "What about the pictures of... us? There were pictures of me and Ron... and Han... how long did he follow us?"

"There were other—"

"I know there were others of us! What were in the other pictures of us?!"

She smirks. "Things I wish I never knew about Ron, lets leave it at that."

I cringe, and my stomach clenches. "He took pictures of us making-"

"Yes! Those are images I'll continually need brain bleach for for the rest of my life! I did not want to know what you two are up to in your _free time_."

"Can we just... change topics?" I try not to gag. Ugh ugh ugh—

"Finally," she groans. "Look, all I know is that after you took me in during the brief period I was... involuntarily good... I started seeing you two differently. And my grudging respect for what you did, namely kick my ass, turned into genuinely liking you both for who you are. And I hated that even more because I was still... evil." She heaves another sigh. "I... um... I walked in one day, and Ron was sitting at his desk. News on, smirk on his face, pictures on his desk. Both the news and the pictures have some guy who's brain is on the cement next to him. He said the man was sent to harm you, he was following you one day. You were crying, and you were pregnant, and he didn't think you'd noticed or be able to defend yourself well... he beat the pulp out of the man and made him beg for his life before he shot him in the back of the head. And he said he liked it." She shuddered. "I was like that once. Maybe a part of me still is. I like the thrill of breaking in places, I like the power I feel beating the living shit out of people. Making them feel the pain I feel and all that bullshit. _He_ was _me_. I had to help him. I didn't want him to lose himself like I did. And he came close so many times, believe me. His... light... was burning out. I couldn't let that happen. I know I'm... let's be realistic, there's a special place in hell for me, new GJ life or not."

"Shelby—"

"Let me finish. I know I'm a lost cause, but you don't have to be. Ron doesn't have to be."

I sit in silence for a moment, then I surprise the fuck out of her by hugging her. "About that reservation they booked for you in hell? It's been canceled."

She just smiles.

* * *

It's summer again. Jenny and Jeannie graduated from USC, and we went to the graduation. It was awkward at first, because Jenny and Jeannie both were cold with him. Josh was his usual calm, smirking, observant self. He never said a thing the entire time we were there, but when I got ready to leave he pulled me aside. "You're an idiot," he smirked after kissing my cheek. "It's not as complicated as you're making it."

I glared at him, and he simply gave me his trademark smirk. "You know, the best thing about art is that you learn to see everything, even empty space, from different perspectives. That's why you suck at it, because you only ever see one perspective... your own."

I pondered that for a long time.

Josh just got a job in Upperton in a graphic design company, so he and Jenny are moving to Upperton this weekend. I'm going to help. I love their place. It's actually like a three-story building. The first one is going to be an art gallery, because Josh still paints and draws and his art has unsurprisingly gotten to be very valuable. The second floor is going to be his studio, and the last floor is going to be where they live. Needless to say, there is a lot of stuff to be moved around, and they need all the hands they can get.

Ron caught wind of it and he promised to be in town to help too.

When I get there, Jeannie immediately swipes the girls and demands to know where she can take them for ice cream.

"Jeannie," I sigh at her, "They had enough sugar for one day. They can have ice cream tomorrow."

"But Kim—"

I raise an eyebrow. "No."

"You're no fun," she mumbles.

"Why don't you take them to the park? They can have fun and get some exercise."

A happy shriek reaches my ears and I whirl around. The world slows down around me and I can see several things happening at once. I see Ron's car pull up and I see Hana slip between two parked cars, practically disappearing between them before dashing into the street towards Ron; his face is pale with horror. I see the light on the intersection has turned green, and a truck comes lumbering down the road, increasing its speed. I see Josh chase her into the street, and I see Han freeze up when she realizes what's happening.

I jump into action.

Shoving Josh back into the side walk, where he lands in an ungraceful heap, I launch myself at Hana, taking her to the ground with a tumble. I cradle her to me to avoid her getting hurt and when we're done tumbling, the truck is practically on top of us. I pin her legs with my own and shield her face with my hands, laying as flat as I can. The truck stops about ten feet ahead of us and I sit up. Ron is out of his car in an instant, taking her from my arms and checking her frantically. The shaken driver jumps out of his truck and sags against it.

Jeannie passes out and Josh climbs to his feet and dials 9-1-1. Jenny rushes to her sister.

Satisfied that Hana is unhurt, Ron turns to me after setting her safely on the sidewalk.

"Are you okay?" he asks, gently brushing a scrape on my arm.

I nod. "Is she hurt?"

"She's okay I think. I still think an ambulance should check you both."

"Ron, don't be ridiculous, I'm fine."

His hands are on my face, on my arms, on my back. His wide, horrified eyes scan my legs. "You're bleeding."

I shrug. I'm still thinking about how his hands feel on my skin.

He raises an eyebrow at me and motions me toward the steps of Josh's building. "Sit or I'll make you."

I cross my arms but follow him to the stairs. Jenny brings a first aid kit and I brace myself for the sting of the alcohol.

Ron's hands are gentle and I don't even feel when he cleans the inch-long gash and wraps it n gauze. They tremble slightly when he finally stands up and looks at me.

"We're okay, Ron," I reassure him gently.

He nods and swallows hard.

By then the ambulance has arrived and is dealing with Jeannie. A firetruck also arrived and the firemen are quickly checking Han and the ashen truck driver. Police arrive to take our statements.

"Miss Possible, it is very good to see that you're alright." The officer shakes my hand. He's about thirty years old with jet black, gelled back hair and a handsome face. He's got nice abs too. Too bad he seems like a jerk, my mind idly observes as he leers at me, his eyes lingering a bit on my chest.

Ron's face darkens and his fists clench. I glare at him. He needs to quit that shit, like yesterday.

He sneers at the cop and turns to Hana, who is crying softly. He soothes her until she falls asleep while I talk to the officer.

When everyone finally leaves, Ron is still sitting with Hana on the steps. He hands her off to Josh who takes her inside and stands as I approach him. "KP?" He reaches for my hand. "Are you sure you're alright?"

I nod, avoiding his eyes.

"Are you..."

"What?"

"I mean... do you need to... um, should I take the girls?"

I roll my eyes, a cross between a scoff and a chuckle escaping my lips. "You mean, 'are you planning to go out with and/or sleep with that greasy-haired douchebag that looks like the guy from the Brawny commercials' thank you, no, asshole!"

"Kim—"

"Do not 'Kim' me, Ron! We are _not_ together. It's not any of your damn business who I chose to date."

"The hell it's not," he snaps at me.

"You do not have the right!" I scream at him. "You don't really care about who I date, you're just pissed of that it isn't you! You selfish egotistical—"

"Wrong again," he growls at me. "I have the right to know who's going to be hanging around _my_ daughters and _my_ sister. I don't give a shit who you sleep with."

"Right, because I _sleep with_ so many people. I'm not some whore, you asshole! I have my dignity, and I have three kids to take care of." My fist clenches at my hip and I sneer at him. "You seemed so thrilled at the idea of me having a date," I spit out sarcastically.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Josh roll his eyes, taking Jenny's arm. "Let's go unpack, babe. The two love birds are duking it out again. I can imagine the make up sex is going to be so awesome they're both going to explode and no one will be able to touch their bodies for weeks because it'll be like... radioactive or some shit."

Jenny laughs. "Maybe they'll literally zap anyone who tries to touch them, with like a hundred thousand volts of electricity. Oh I can see the headlines now: _Kim Possible's Body Found with the Body of her Former Partner, Ron Stoppable. Evidence Suggests that they Exploded During Amazing Sex. However, their Autopsies Have Been Delayed Since their Bodies have been Deemed an Electrical Hazard and Could be Radioactive."_

They both crack up as they ascend the stairs and I growl at them before I focus back on Ron.

He's glowering after them too. "Can you believe those two?"

"Can we get back on topic here?" I snap.

He focuses his gaze on me. "I'm done arguing with you." He looks out onto the street and his hands tremble briefly again. "I'm glad you're okay." He turns and walks towards the house, but he abruptly turns back. He starts to say something, but then he sighs.

"What?" I snap at him, still not in the mood for his bullshit.

"Maybe I don't have the right... but I really don't give a fuck."

"Screw you, Ron," I fume at him.

"If you want, I don't mind if you do." He shrugs and gives me an impish grin. "You were right about one thing. I _am_ extremely opposed to you dating anyone that isn't me." He walks inside and starts helping Josh install things in the gallery, leaving me seething on the sidewalk.

He's seriously working my nerves. I've had enough.

**RPOV**

I'm driving home now, but Kim's furious expression is burned into my mind, and I'm distracted. I really should stop pushing her buttons.

My phone vibrates and I glance at it before I answer. "What's up?"

"Are you okay? I just texted Kim, she said she and Han barely survived an face to face with a truck!"

"And you're asking me if I'm okay?" I roll my eyes. "Really, Shego?"

"I already know she and Hana are okay, or she wouldn't have answered the damn text message."

"Touche."

"Are you alright?"

"We fought... after it was over."

She laughs. "Doy. You always fight."

"I might have pushed her buttons a little."

"Ugh... just start from the beginning, Buffoon."

"Well the cop that was taking her statement, he was all manly and greasy haired and pretty and he was hitting on her and checking her out... I kinda got pissed."

"You got jealous? Why, because she was going to get some and you weren't? Or because she was going to get some with _him_ and not _you_?"

"Uh... heh... c, all of the above?"

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner," she deadpans. "You're going to apologize to her tonight."

"No way, she's a redhead, and she's still nuclear!"

"No shit dipstick."

"_Stubborn_ and nuclear!"

"You can say that again," she chuckles.

"I'm not talking to her tonight."

"She's going to be at her mom's house tonight. The girls will be there and so will I. You can get your ass kicked by Kim or by Shego, you choose."

I groan. "Why are you making me do this?"

She smirks. "For radioactive make up sex."

"How in the fuck did you know about that?!"

I can practically hear her smirking. "You ass dialed me."

_click_.

* * *

"Hey."

A smirk. "She's upstairs. She's going to be down in a few minutes. Are you going to go up or—"

"No way. She'll go easy on me if I'm with the girls."

"Like hell," Kim growls. "Who invited you?"

I point at Shego, and she smacks the back of my head. Ugh.

She's giving Shego her deadliest expression and I smirk. She glares at me. "What are you smirking at? You're getting your ass kicked as soon as I'm done kicking her ass for bringing you here."

"Bring it, Princess."

That gets her a one finger salute.

"Am I invited in?"

"No," Kim glares.

I step past Shego and kiss her cheek. "Okay then. I'll see you next weekend."

She gives me an unconvincing bitch-brow.

I maybe pout a little, and then I'm saved by the shrieking children. Hana kisses my cheek before scampering off to play soccer with Uncle Jim again, and the twins run in and wrap themselves around my legs.

Kim smiles softly at them and disappears back upstairs. I play with them on the ground for a while, letting them climb all over me. They are two years old now, and they call me 'Daddy' and talk and babble and such. They're adorable, and I love them to death.

When I finally escape the girls and make my way to the couch, Kim is still leaning on the entrance to the living room, watching the girls with a smile. I'm so off the hook. Possible girls are like puppies; it's impossible to stay mad at anyone with them around. Especially when they giggle like they just did, I muse to myself as they talk amongst themselves.

"Daddy?"

I smile down at Danni, brushing her messy red curls from her face.

"I sit wif yew?"

I pull her into my lap and she curls up against me. Yori Anne doesn't stay behind. I close my eyes and try to enjoy being with my girls and _ignore_ the huge elephant in the room.

When I open my eyes again, it's night time, and the girls are in bed. Hana has taken their place on my lap. I kiss her hair. She still smells like Jolly Ranchers.

"Feeling better?"

I jump. "Scared me, KP," I chide her.

"Sorry."

I motion her to sit next to me. "I hadn't realized how tired I was."

"Well after all the moving around and stuff we did today..."

"Yeah. I think all the excitement about that truck thing did me in." I stretch and lay back, shifting Han so she's on top of me. She's six now, and she's doing fantastically in MAGIC. She's closer than ever to her little friend Julian. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, that was us, years ago, when criminals and social codes of conduct and other things didn't get between Kim and I. On the other hand... well, that was us, and look where we are now.

We're in this awkward parents that may or may not hate each other non-friendship sitch. We're sitting on the couch not talking, avoiding eachother's eyes but watching each other, as if we were enemies and not the best friends in the world. And I hate it.

"We need to talk," we both blurt out at the same time, when we get fed up with the really awkward silence.

I motion to my sleeping sister. She gestures that she'll be in her room.

When I get there, she's sitting near the huge window, staring at the moon. "I'm tired," she says quietly. There are tears in her voice.

"Me too," I whisper.

"I don't believe you," she spits, and I know she's angry now. "You like pushing my buttons."

Maybe, I concede the point in my head. Partly because shes a sight to see when she's angry. Mostly because I'm afraid of what will happen if she _isn't _angry.

She turns to me, and her face darkens in fury. "You aren't even trying to deny it! You annoying asshole!"

I shrug. I don't need to be told I'm an asshole, I already know that. I'm less indifferent, though, when she sinks onto her bed in tears.

"You broke all your promises," she says quietly. "I... feel abandoned and betrayed, and fucking stupid and used by you."

"We've been over this, Kimmie," I say gently, sitting down next to her. "I did what I thought was best to keep all those promises. I always had your back, KP."

She's shaking her head before I'm finished speaking. "No, you did what you do best, Ron. You ran away. I guess... no matter how much I thought you'd grown up, some things never changed."

"You're wrong."

"I'm not wrong," she says savagely. "You ran away from me! I needed you and you were gone," she cries, tears streaming down her face. "You took off, and nobody heard from you again... well except for Shego. Of course _she_ knew. How is it that you and I have been attached at the hip since preschool, even becoming a team that faced dangerous situations almost daily, but when stuff goes sour you run to _Shego_? What the fuck did I do wrong to make you believe I wouldn't be able to help you with my own safety and the safety of _our_ children?! I don't understand. I don't..." she breaks down, her sobs tearing into me like bear claws. She slips off the bed to the ground, arms wrapped around herself. "Did you not... did you not love me? I... I can accept that," she whispers, squeezing her eyes against the tears. "I... I mean, I thought for so long that you didn't... and then they told me you were some sort of criminal and I just... I thought you forgot about me," she whimpers, and then the dam breaks. Her whole body jerks and trembles with the force of her sobs, and her cries are mournful and desolate.

I want to go to her... I want to hold her, and kiss her, and tell her everything is going to be alright... I want to... fuck, I don't know what to do. My palms are practically searing with the need to comfort her, but my mind is whirling and my body is stiff, locked in place. My hands, unable to be still anymore, reach for her, only to drop back into my lap dejectedly. I swallow hard. "KP," I choke out, a tight knot forming in my throat, making it painful to speak. My hand reaches for her uselessly again. "KP I'm sorry. Kim... _please_ tell me... tell me what I have to do to get your trust back."

"I trust you," she protests automatically. "I trust you with my life, if letting you haul me off to the middle of nowhere wasn't any indication."

"You trust_ed_ me to get you out of a sticky sitch, out of necessity. You don't trust me with your life, or your heart." Admitting that out loud sears in my chest, and I wrap my arms around myself too. I wish it were her instead. "I... I know that that's reasonable, that I deserve that because I hurt you. But I can't... we can't do this anymore. I love you, and I'm tired of being without you. I'm tired of the arguing and the—"

"You know what I'm tired of? I'm tired of you being gone." she draws a shaky breath, and more tears fall from her eyes. "You are supposed to be my best friend, my partner... the man in my family, the love of my life... but you left me," she whimpers. "You were gone! You left me alone... and you're never around, and when you are, all we do is fight. I hate it! I can't stand it anymore. I hate looking into our girl's eyes and seeing sadness when they talk about you. They should be happy to tell me about you, you're their _father._ Hana... I would kill to see her smile when she talks about her Ronnie. I just... want it to go back to the way it was. I don't want to live like this anymore," she begs in a whisper.

"KP, I—"

"Don't! I don't want your excuses," she says, enraged, and her voice cracks sharply. "I want you stay in my life or get the fuck out so I can lick my wounds in peace."

That makes me angry. "_Your _wounds?! You think you're the only one in pain because of all of this?!"

She glares at me. "No. There's Han, and Yori Anne and Danni, there's—"

"I get it, okay?" I cut her off, trying to keep the angry bite out of my voice.

She sighs. "I get that you're hurting because of your parents' deaths and—"

"It's not about them anymore! They're gone, they aren't coming back. Monkey Fist took them away from me. Yeah that stings, more than I want to think about right now. But you know what... the thing that made me leave wasn't the fact that they died... it was the fact that they wanted to take you from me, too." I stare at my hands, numbly watching them blur from my vision. "I can't lose you too, KP."

When she speaks, her voice is low and rough. "Can I ask you something?"

I shrug.

"Will you... tell me what happened after you left?"

Wow, um...

"Please. Josh... said something to me. He said that... that I only see things from my own perspective."

I smirk. "That's not all he said."

A smile tugs at the corners of her lips. "You're right. But I... I need to _know_ what made you leave me. I need to _see_... your perspective."

I shake my head. "KP those things are really... really just... I didn't really want to tell you—"

"I don't need to be shielded from your life, Ron," she snaps. "I need to be... included. Please tell me. Tell me everything."

So I do. I describe in detail every single one of those God-awful pictures, I tell her how I retched for hours and then proceeded to get wasted out of my mind. I tell her that I snapped, and that I had so much rage and evil inside me, and how I sort-of decided to put it to good use.

"Why... why did you come to me that night?"

"To... say goodbye, I guess." I stare at my hands. From the argument we had the day we broke up, I know this is something that cuts her deeply. I start seeing how all my decisions have affected her and my family, and my stomach churns. I can taste hot, bitter bile in the back of my throat. I swear on everything holy, I never wanted to cause her this much pain. "I really do love you, I always did," I grate out. "I... swear I didn't... use you, or whatever."

She reads my expression and looks away. "You wanted to show me you loved me, but you knew all along that your entire plan would end in this," she gestures between us. "Either you want me, or I'm expendable in all your plans."

I grit my teeth. I have no answer for that. I did use her. I used her emotions and I used her safety. I'm such an ass.

"You aren't expendable," I whisper. I can taste bile in my throat again.

She frowns at me. "Are you okay?"

I nod.

"You look sick."

"I am," I mutter. "I'm sick to my stomach because I treated you like everything I..." I curse under my breath. "I'm so sorry," I whisper.

"I hate it when you say that," she spits out. "Sorry doesn't change anything! Sorry is _stupid! _Sorry doesn't take away all the nights I spent rocking your sister to sleep so she wouldn't wake up screaming because you were gone. Sorry doesn't change the horrible hole I had in my chest the day the girls were born because _their father_ wasn't there! Sorry doesn't change what you did to me when you left."

I have no answer for that. More bile rises in my throat; I know I'm going to hurl now.

"You left me empty... I felt like I'd been gutted alive. And then I felt lost... detached, like an astronaut on a spacewalk without a tether line or jet pack or anyway to get back to his space ship. And then I felt... _so_ angry. I thought I hated you, you know," she says ruefully. "It's sorta hypocritical to tell you this now, after all the progress we've made. I wanted to hate you. It would have been easier to. I wanted to tell Hana to forget about you so many times. I wanted her to hate you too, because then she wouldn't have to hurt anymore, and she wouldn't wake up screaming your name..." she tries to draw a calming breath, but coughs a little instead. "I can't do this anymore," she whimpers.

I swallow once, twice... the acid in my throat burns on the way back down, and my stomach churns again. I think I'm shaking with the effort it takes to keep my gut from turning itself inside out.

"I feel like such a hypocrite," she barely whispers. "I... told Jeannie and Jenny that I hated you, once. When we'd fight, I'd always... grumble about how much I... but when you said those words to me, I cried for days. _Days,_ Ron."

Me too, I think to myself dryly.

"...and then I looked at myself, and I was angry. I was angry that I couldn't stop crying over you. I told myself that you were a piece of shit, that I hated you, and that I couldn't... wouldn't... waste my tears on you anymore. But then... I'd see you with the girls, and I'd see you talk about them and—" Suddenly she turns on me, her fist connecting with the right side of my chest so hard I have to cough. "I hate you! Ron, I hate your stupid smirk and your all-that swagger and how sexy you look when you cook and how amazing you are with our girls and—and how I still dream about you," she cries. Her voice is raw from crying and her anger makes it sound like a low growl. Her fists are still pounding on me. "I hate that you still know me better than anybody. I hate how I—why don't you get out of my head?" she whimpers, still beating my chest. "Why? Why do I still love you?" she cries, her fists unclenching briefly to cling to a portion of my tee shirt. "I still love you, Ronnie," she whispers, her voice hoarse from crying.

I wish I were dead. I wish I'd died a million painful deaths, it would be better than this. I don't know what to do with my hands. They're trembling. I don't know what to say. My mouth doesn't work, my cheeks are raw from biting on them as my jaw clenches. I don't know what to do. My chest, now torn to pieces, cracked, bruised, and bleeding, doesn't have the strength to hold it all in anymore. With an anguished cry, the walls inside me give way, and I crumble.

* * *

I don't know how we sat there, sobbing, but I think we eventually fell asleep on the floor. I feel like shit. My face is stuffy, and my eyes are scratchy. I'm shaking still, I think. My chest is sore from crying and my stomach is still sour.

I peer up at the alarm clock on her night stand. It reads 3:26 am.

Her hands are still fisted in my shirt. Her breaths are shallow and shuddering. I can't seem to take a deep breath either. Tears well up in my eyes again. I run my hands over my face, tug at my hair... anything to get myself under control.

I can't.

"Ron?" She croaks, and I know immediately that she feels like shit too. She groans as she sits up. "Oh... fuck." She squeezes her eyes shut, covering her face with her hands.

"KP?"

"Dizzy," she whispers.

I scramble to my feet and immediately regret standing so fast. My legs, sore and asleep from the lack of blood flow that came with sitting in that awkward position as I slept, are now tingling painfully. My head, apparently also deprived of bloodflow, now swims as my vision goes dark.

I ignore the pain and make my way into the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge and going up the stairs as quietly as I can. My body protests to every step. Oh God, I'm not even thirty yet and I'm already too old for this shit.

I hand her the water and she accepts it gratefully. Her trembling fingers can't get the stupid cap open, so I open it for her. She chugs it at first, but then sips it more slowly as her thirst finally begins to be quenched.

After a long moment of silence, she draws a slow breath, and I gather it's to keep her from crying any more. "Where did you... go? Wade said you got a one way ticket to Japan then disappeared."

"I was there for three months. I... paid my respects to Yori. I tried to... get control of myself, of my emotions. Sensei was really worried about me."

"I can imagine," she whispers sympathetically.

"I trained a bit, of course, but I couldn't focus on anything, much less like...meditate, or anything like that. All I could think about was revenge. I was so... _poisoned_... I finally told Sensei that I was leaving. He just said he prayed I didn't lose myself during the whole ordeal. I told him it was too late to pray for that. I came to Lowerton. I asked Shego for help. She got me a lair, one of Drakken's old ones, and she got me agents through GJ to help me destroy all the mystical monkey power stuff. She also got me another partner... for the more sinister stuff."

"Will you tell me about your missions?" She stares at my shirt for a moment, and her hands tremble before she clenches them into fists again.

I realize after a long time that she's asking about my scars. "I'm... I'm alright, Kimmie."

She tugs at the hem of my shirt, and I let her slip it over my head. Her hands trace the spattering of scars I have, and I can tell she's crying again. "Ron... _please," _she begs, her voice shaking.

I tell her how I got every single scar. I tell her about all my tattoos, where and when I got them, and she smiles through her tears when she sees the ones of Yori and Danni's handprints again. I have more. They are stalks of gladiolus flowers. One of them has pink flowers. It has Hana's full name. The other one simply says 'KP'. Its flowers are the exact shade of reddish-orange as her hair. I explain to her that I read that gladiolus flowers are supposed to be symbols of great fighters or warriors. There's a third stalk of gladiolus flowers, but it's wilted, and it's flowers are black. I got that one on the first anniversary of Yori's death. Her fingers trail each scar, each mark on my skin as I explain. Her touch leaves searing fire on my skin, but I try to ignore that. It's really hard to do though.

I tell her about the men I hunted down when I found out they killed Yori, and I tell her about the man I killed when I caught him following her. I tell her how there were GJ agents literally everywhere she and Han went, and that I even got GJ doctors and nurses to stay in the hospital when the twins were born. I tell her how I got daily updates about her, the girls, her family, how _jealous _I used to be that Shego got to see her and touch her and kiss my girls and watch them grow while I was stuck far away.

She gives a tearful chuckle. "The irony in that is... just fucking hilarious. Here, I was jealous because she got to see you... I even accused her of sleeping with you, did you know? She shrugged it off. Meanwhile you... would have given anything to be here instead of her."

"Fucking hilarious indeed," I mutter dully. I tell her how I'm the one that took the apartment off her hands and set her up so that she could move in my house. I cry again when I tell her that I rarely ever slept, because I didn't like the feeling of not being able to hold her. I tell her over and over again that I'm sorry.

She's staring at her hands in tearful silence, then her eyes, a dull green that is new to me since I'm so used to the bright liveliness of grass in the sun when she's happy and hard emerald when she's angry, meet mine. "Do you remember when I got it in my head that you needed a haircut? And I got Francois to come do it?"

I chuckle and nod.

"You hated the idea from the beginning, and even Mom wondered if it was a good idea."

"Yeah."

"I told her I knew what was best for you, even if you didn't." She gives a rueful little chuckle. "It ended up changing you almost completely, and it almost ruined our friendship."

I contemplate what she's saying. I know where she's going with this. She's telling me I made a major decision with out her, and even though it was supposed to be for her well being, it ended up being the complete opposite.

"I wish you'd told me what happened. All of this could have been prevented."

"I wish I'd told you, too." I turn to her then, taking her hands. "KP... please tell me what I can do to earn your trust back. Please, I'm begging you. I know what I've done... messed us up. But we can fix it. We can, please just tell me how."

A fat tear rolls down her cheek. She stands, pacing at the foot of her bed in silence, except for the occasional sniffle. Finally, she lifts her watery eyes to mine. "First... let me apologize. I... I guess I didn't realize... or remember... I'm not sure which, but I guess it wasn't in my mind that you suffered through this as much as I did, until tonight. The blame for what is going on now... it falls on me too."

I stay silent.

"I'm sorry I keep pushing you away. I'm done now, I promise."

I stand too. "I'm sorry I keep pushing your buttons. I guess... I was afraid because I didn't want your indifference. I figured you fighting with me is better than you not acknowledging my existence." I try not to smirk. "That and you're gorgeous when you're pissed."

She smacks my arm and I crack a smile. Then she gets serious. "You want to know how to fix this... come home. Please, come home. Don't... don't leave me—us, don't leave _us_ anymore."

Her entreaty makes my vision blur and I wrap my arms around her. I squeeze her as close to me as I can. "I'm home, Kimmie," I whisper into her hair. "I'm never going anywhere without you again."

This time it's a promise I know I'll keep. I'm getting my life back. No matter what it takes.


	23. Stop and Stare

**hey guys welcome back. thanks for all your reviews, they make me smile and eat sweet things.**

**this chapter is largely unbeta-ed again, although Levi2000a1 did help me with the first part of this... thanks to him again.**

**hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_Stop and stare  
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere  
Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared  
I've become what I can't be_

_Oh, do you see what I see?  
_

_~Stop and Stare, One Republic_

* * *

**KPOV**

"Come home. Please, come home. Don't... don't leave me—us, don't leave us anymore."

His eyes fill with tears and I'm wrapped in his warm embrace. "I'm home, Kimmie," he whispers, and I feel the warmth of his breath in my hair. "I'm never going anywhere without you again." After an eternity, or maybe a few minutes, of us just clinging to each other for dear life, he pulls back and looks at me. A tear spills down his cheek. His eyes, now the warm honey they used to be before all this started, study me.

An intensity builds in my body that I'm unable to comprehend anymore. His eyes are cataloging every feature of my face, every line of my body... and wherever his eyes land, there is fire. Searing, unquenchable fire. It makes it hard to breath. My heart races, threatening to explode from the heat there is inside me. He gives me a lopsided grin and hugs me again, pressing his lips into my hair.

There is fire on my scalp now. His lips are on my forehead, and there is fire there too. His chest is still bare, because he was explaining his scars and tattoos to me (each one is an incredible work of art... and I might be contemplating a tattoo of my own now, the one he has on his back of the girls' handprints) and my hands instinctively trace the lines of his chest, of his abs and his back. He shivers and I push him back towards the bed, gently.

He stiffens. "Kimmie?"

I look up at him in confusion. Doesn't he feel this too? Or did he lie...?

He reads my expression and smiles sadly. "No, Kimmie baby. My first mistake after seeing you again was to make love with you."

It was a mistake? But...

My mind whirls in confusion, and my chest constricts with the rejection. There is ice in my veins now, not fire.

He reaches out to touch me, and I flinch away from him. He doesn't want me? But he just said—

"KP stop. Stop, stop, stop." He grabs my hand and doesn't let go when I try to yank it back. He pulls me into his arms. "It's not that I don't want you, Kimmie," he says into my hair. "Believe me, please."

Then why? Is the thought that breaks through the confusion in my brain.

"Because I need you to trust me," he says softly. "Because I need us to be best friends again. Because I won't let you feel used ever again. You are everything to me. And you need to know that for sure before we can do this."

Had I said that out loud?

"Please understand," he begs, pulling away from me to search my face.

I just lean into him again.

After a moment, or maybe it was a few hours, he picks me up and tucks me into bed before turning off the lights and pressing a kiss to my hair. "Goodnight, Kimmie baby," he whispers. He heads for the door which is at the bottom of the stairs up to my room.

I hear him pause on the steps. "I do love you," he whispers into the dark. Then he's gone.

* * *

I slept like a baby. I yawn and stretch, feeling like a cat after a nap. I shower, dress and head into the kitchen. As I pass the den on the second floor, I notice that the couch still has pillows and blankets strewn on it. That makes me feel good; he didn't leave... he promised he wouldn't leave anymore, and he's already keeping his promise.

Everyone is in the kitchen, even Shelby. The Tweebs are watching me, and I can practically see them making fun of me in their annoying younger brother heads.

There are cinnamon and chocolate chip pancakes in front of everyone, and they all seem to be enjoying the morning. Ron smiles tentatively at me, and I return the smile shyly, stepping towards him.

When I finally reach him, he hands me bowl of his granola and some fresh chopped fruit. "I saw all the diet stuff in your room," he whispers in explanation. "You don't really need it... but I figured you would like this."

I smile at him in thanks. I do like it. I like it a lot.

He brushes my cheek, and my skin tingles. There's that fire again...

Someone murmurs, "watch," but I barely hear them. My mind is overloading as Ron's hands frame my face.

"Good morning," he murmurs, and my eyes flutter closed as his lips meet mine ever so lightly. I find myself unable to breath as his tongue begs entrance to my mouth. Too much, my brain repeats incoherently until the sweet taste of him finally shuts it up.

When he pulls back, I miss the feeling of his lips immediately. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and kisses my forehead. I stand there like an idiot with the bowl still in my hands.

The entire kitchen is silent.

Mom finally clears her throat and stands, trying to look busy by clearing some empty plates. Dad's eyes shift between us for a long time, but he says nothing. He goes back to the _Examiner_ with a small smile on his face. The Tweebs take a breath to tease me and I growl at them in warning. Shelby is forever smirking.

I glance up at Ron and there is amusement in his eyes. "Don't worry about that, Lady Dr. P. I'll clean up here."

She wipes her hands on her lab coat awkwardly. "U-um... okay. We'll just... leave you two to talk, or whatever. I'm... off to work."

"I have a report to write," Shelby says, her perpetually sarcastic grin on her face. "You two love birds have a great day."

Dad clears the room just as quickly. The Tweebs stick their tongues out at us before herding the girls into the living room for some fun. Shelby drops a spare key into Tim's hand and tells him to take the girls to the pool at her house. Jim excitedly scrambles up the stairs to get their things.

Ron chuckles. "I guess they're happy for us."

"Yeah, I guess." I stare at my hands to hide my embarrassment.

"It's nice to know that we can still clear a room."

My face burns. He laughs. "Eat your breakfast, KP baby," he whispers, grinning in satisfaction when I shiver at his lips on the shell of my ear.

I flip him off and reach behind him to get a spoon before sitting down and getting serious. "We need to talk about what happened yesterday."

He sits across from me, his hands fidgeting uncomfortably. "That was the single most terrifying moment of my entire life."

"I know," I whisper.

"I'm so glad you're okay... God, KP, I thought—"

"Stop, Ron. This isn't about me."

He looks up at me in confusion.

"Han froze up when she saw the truck."

He frowns. "I know. I would have thought her instinct would kick in. It did when Monkey Fist attacked her the first time, at the Yamanouchi school."

"Well it didn't this time. And it didn't when she was kidnapped either." I shake my head. "Ron, she's supposed to be some sort of ultimate weapon... she's got more black belts than I do and she's only six. But she doesn't have what she needs to become that... weapon that everyone says she's going to be." He is silent. His eyes narrow suspiciously. "Ron, I did the best I could with her. But she still got picked on in school, she still freezes up when she's afraid... I don't know how to make those things go away. _You_ do."

He looks at his hands. "She's not ready for that kind of training."

"Ron she should have been able to fend for herself with that truck."

"She shouldn't have been left alone to get into the street in the first place," he snaps.

"You are _NOT_ putting this on me, Ron," I hiss at him. "Hana is _your_ responsibility. Sensei sent her to you for protection and training, and you ditched her."

He glares at the table sullenly. "She's not ready."

"When will she be ready?" I ask quietly.

He shrugs, and I still his hands, which are picking awkwardly at his nails. "Ron... maybe it's not that she's not ready. Maybe it's that _you_ are not ready."

His jaw clenches, and his tense gaze focuses somewhere out the window.

"I'm right, aren't I? What's holding you back?"

"I hate this stupid monkey power," he finally spits out. "It's what separated us, it's what got my parents killed, and Yori, and... I don't even like monkeys anyway!" he jumps up from the table and starts pacing. "I can't train her to be something I hate! I refuse."

"Well that is incredibly selfish of you, Ron," I muse.

"Why in the fuck would you say that?!" he hisses.

"Because you are ready to risk her life simply because you don't like what her future has in store for her."

"I haven't used my powers in years. I'm not even sure I still have them, and if I lost them it will be fucking better for me, better for everyone around me."

"I don't think this is a 'use it or lose it' sitch, and I think you know I'm right."

He slumps back into his seat. "I'm not ready to face this yet," he mumbles. "Please, KP, don't make me. I can't... please, Kimmie, please." He's literally hyperventilating by the time he's done speaking.

"Whoa, hey, calm down, baby." I sit next to him and try to soothe him, but his back is stiff and his whole body is trembling.

Not caring that it's fifty billion degrees out, I brew chamomile tea for both of us.

He eventually calms down, but I sigh, making a mental note to have Wade contact our friends at Yamanouchi. Ron is going to have to come to terms with this one way or another. Han cant stay this... defenseless... forever.

* * *

"You two are arguing again aren't you?"

Ron and I glare up at her. He makes an obscene hand gesture, and she returns it. "Fuck you, Stoppable," she mutters.

He grins. "You'll have to get in line, sweet thing," he drawls with a wink in my direction.

I just shake my head as she flips him off again.

Shelby sits next to me, across from him after hugging each of us in turn. "Is it safe to sit with you guys now? You won't make this whole shit awkward will you? 'Cause I swear I will leave and you two losers will foot this bill yourselves."

Ron rolls his eyes. Most of the hardness in them has broken down over the last few days, and I'm happy to see him let his guard down a bit. Even though he still smokes... ugh. Yesterday we argued about that. He had every intention of lighting up in my room.

"Oh no you don't Ron!"

"What?" he had muttered, putting his lighter down. "What'd I do now?"

"There's no smoking in the house."

"It's my house," he mumbled.

I ignored him and put my fist on my hip. "If you want to light up your cancer sticks, you do it OUTSIDE where _our girls_ aren't smoking with you! And that's final!"

He took his damn smoke outside. And when he came back, he might have been upset because I _accidentally_ threw away the rest of them. Well... they fell. In the toilet. On accident—accidentally on purpose. And then they were all soggy... so I just tossed em.

I think he's still mad at me. Even though I attempted to make breakfast for him in apology.

He had to cook _and_ clean after that.

"Houston paging Kim," Ron snaps me out of my not so fantastic memories of this morning.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"Alright, Cupcake, you have us all here. What's up your butt?" She smirks. "Wait, don't answer that."

I roll my eyes. "Very mature, _Shego_. Look, Ron needs... help."

He scowls. "I don't need a damn thing."

"Ron for fuck sake, this isn't optional!" I hiss at him.

He glares out the window in silence while I explain to Shego that Ron hates his powers which are now needed to train Han.

She frowns. "Yes he did use his powers! Fucking cheater. He was all treating me like crap after he found out you were pregnant... and I told him I'd kick his ass into next week if he didn't stop PMSing like a twelve year old girl and fucking focus. And maybe we... knocked each other around a little."

"You used your powers," Ron grumbled.

"Yes but you _know_ me! Since when do I play fair?"

"Since never."

"Ditto," Ron smirks. He gets serious. "Look... I don't want to hone my powers. If I did I would have used all that stuff I found in Yori's journal. I destroyed them instead. My powers are what got me into this mess... My powers are what got Yori killed, they're what made Monkey Fist so obsessed with me anyway... they're the reason for all of this! I'm glad I destroyed every single fucking thing left of it! It's not a gift, it's a fucking _curse!_ The less I use it, the better."

"Stop it now," Shelby hisses at him. "Get your head out of your ass. First you were all willing to sacrifice your relationships to keep your girls safe but now you don't want to help your _sister_ so that she at least has the tools she needs to become whatever it is she's supposed to become, if she chooses it? Or at least to be safe by herself, if she chooses not to do it. You might be an ass, but you should at least be consistent.

"That being said, I get that you still have your own personal grief over what happened, and I understand why you feel like your powers are part of the problem. You _know_ I get that." His eyes flicker to her briefly, and the sadness in them breaks my heart. She acknowledges the look, squeezing his hand briefly. "You know what will happen to your sister if her time comes and she's not ready," she says softly. He stares out the window again, his expression indifferent. "You can't say you don't care. You cared enough to chase her across the world. You cared enough to make sure she was well taken care of when you were gone. But Princess did all she could do. You can't stick her with this responsibility forever."

He deflates slightly. "I know," he whispers.

I take his other hand. "Ron, I know that this monkey power sitch has you scared. I know you blame it, and yourself, for what happened. But none of that was your fault. Your parents were killed because your enemies were evil and cruel. That's not your fault. It _will_ be your fault if Hana isn't prepared to make informed decisions on her life when the time comes. She was just a baby when she faced the _Yono_. And she couldn't have done it without you. She's _The Han_, and she needs to know what that means, what she's capable of... and she needs her brother to support her."

He looks between us. "This wasn't supposed to be an intervention," he mutters dryly.

Shego just grins. "Come on Buffoon. I think your friends at the Fight Club are due for a show of how _real_ fighters get things done."

* * *

Ron, being the sweet-talker we all know and love, swings some after hours time every day of the week for the next six months. I bring Saul along, so he can keep me entertained while Shego pushes Ron to his absolute mental and physical limits. She knows a fair amount of martial arts and has studied different forms of self defense all over the world. She's the only one on this side of the pond that can actually challenge him with moves he's never seen before. Besides, either I'm ridiculously predictable or he can read me like a book, because he always knows what I'm going to do next. I wonder if I should take a page or two from her book too.

Ron met Saul for the first time before one of our sessions and I wanted to strangle him.

"Hey," Saul had smiled, reaching his hand out.

Ron shook it, sizing him up with hard, cynical eyes. He didn't say a word. Saul bit his lip, trying to maintain eye contact. When Ron let go of his hand, he waited until he thought no one was looking and winced, flexing his hand and cracking his knuckles.

Since then, Saul and Ron are getting along very _very _poorly. Shego and I have managed to keep them from fighting each other for now, but I have a feeling that this is gunna blow... one way or another.

We're on our way home after a four hour work out. Shego split, saying she wanted to relieve my mom and take the girls out, so now I'm dropping off Saul. If looks could kill, Ron's withering look would have vaporized Saul as he got in the passenger's seat next to me. He sped off angrily.

The ride so far has been silent and awkward.

Saul clears his throat. "So um..."

I give a self-conscious chuckle. "Uh..."

He sighs and glares dully out the window. "Your ex hates me."

I frown. "He's uh... he's not my _ex_... exactly."

He chokes on something, coughing and sputtering. "Well—wha-w—what does that mean?"

"It means we're working things out."

He laughs sardonically. "You actually _want_ to get back with that douche?"

I feel my hands clench on the wheel. "He's not a douche."

"He treats me like shit!"

"I wonder why," I mutter, making a left turn.

"Look... don't get back with him."

"Why not?" I ask, confusion and curiosity coloring my tone.

He stares at his hands. "You deserve better. I mean... he left you. He left you with mouths to feed and..." his hands curl into tight fists.

"This is your stop," I say flatly.

He opens the door but pauses. "He's an asshole."

I swallow, trying to control the trembling in my hands. "He's my life long best friend and the father of my children. Do NOT judge me, Saul."

He gives me a poisonous look. "Don't expect me to let you beat the shit out of me next time he fucks up your relationship, and do not expect me to be your punching bag next time he ruins your life."

"Expect me to beat the shit out of you if you ever talk about Ron like that again, and expect to be my punching bag if you think you can meddle in my business like this," I spit at him. "You don't know anything about my relationship or what he went through. He's suffered enough without your bullshit. Now get out of my car."

He glares at me before slamming the door shut.

I'm still fuming when I get home.

Ron is glaring dully at the TV. "Drop off your boyfriend?"

"He's not my fucking boyfriend," I hiss at him. "Good night, make sure you lock up on your way out!" I stomp up the stairs, muttering about how men are possessive, controlling assholes.

"KP! Wait up!" He jumps off the couch and follows me. "Hey hey hey... wait. I'm sorry okay?"

"You say that a lot these days."

"And I always mean it," he says softly. "What happened, KP baby?"

I face him, crossing my arms. "You aren't sorry. You think he's a douche. Which is fine, he thinks you're a douche too. And he had the nerve to slam the door on _my car_ when I told him not to fucking talk about you like that. Can you believe that shit?!"

He smirks, his hands coming to rest on my upper arms. "God forbid he slam the door on your car."

"Ugh I know!" I fume, throwing up my hands in frustration. "And he also had the nerve to tell me not to get back with you. As if he had a choice in that?! _As _if it's any of his damn business who I date! What the hell!"

He chuckles. "I'll give you a hint. He likes you."

"Huh?" I blink at him, totally confused.

"Now who's the one that's completely oblivious to flirting? He's always checking you out! Or did you think he let you beat the living daylights out of him for shits and giggles? He was enjoying the view."

"But Saul's brother—"

"That other rich bastard was going to leave his brother with his sloppy seconds. They're assholes, KP. Both of them." He sits down on my bed and smirks up at me. "Why do you think I can't stand him?! He was hoping he'd get a chance to put the moves on you."

"You think so?" Now I'm ferociously embarrassed.

He laughs. "Yes, silly."

After a moment of awkward silence on my part, I look up at him. "I'm sorry, Ronnie," I pout, leaning into him.

"I'm sorry too, Kimmie." We embrace for a minute, each enjoying the silence. He pulls back and gives me a mischievous look. "You going to get ready for bed?"

I give him an angelic smile. "Sure, as soon as you get off of it."

He laughs for a long time, then he kisses my temple and makes for the stairs. "Good night, Kimmie," he whispers. "I do love you."

I drop the sarcasm and give him a real smile. "I know, Ron... I love you too."

His smile lights his eyes. "Thank you."

* * *

"Alright, what are we doing here?"

I give him a mischievous grin. "Waiting for our ride of course."

He looks suspicious. "Ride?"

"Doy! Yes, Ron. A ride."

"Where the fuck to?"

"Me to know," I smirk at him.

"Yeah yeah, me to find out," he mutters. "Tell me where we're going."

I get serious. "We're going to get you some... mystical monkey therapy."

He looks at me like I grew a second head. "Mystic-the-what?"

I take both of his hands, watching his face. "We're spending some time in Japan."

"What the fuck for?" he hisses, yanking his hands back. "Kim I told you I can't—"

"You know Sensei will help you face this. He's the only one that can without you having to spill the beans to anyone."

He glares at me.

"Do it for Han," I plead softly, reaching for him again. "Please. There's still so much grief inside you. And you're still angry and afraid, and you need to talk to someone who can really understand. That's why you went to Shego in the beginning, isn't it? The only other person in the world that can help you is him. Please, Ron. For Hana; you can't help her like this."

He turns his back to me. "You know that story you told me, from when we were in high school that you practically forced me to have a hair cut? You're doing it again."

"No sir, I am not. I am trying to protect my child. I can and I will at all costs."

He half-turns towards me. "What was that?" His expression is unreadable.

"I said I'm only trying to protect my—" Oh. I called her my _child_. As in... hmm. I wonder how long I've been calling her that. In retrospect, I think I've felt that way about her since Ron left.

His arms are around me in an instant. "I'll go," he mumbles into my hair. "I'll go. And thank you."

I wrap my arms around him, squeezing him as hard as I can.

"I do love you," he whispers.

"I know," I answer into his shirt.


	24. Where Does It Hurt?

**okay so welcome back. been ironing out a couple details and such, but there's a lot of new stuff for you today. first, here's your ILAW update. this comes accompanied by a chapter 24.5, entitled 'Meteor Shower' so check that out too.**

**also, i was in a mood, and i wrote a tragedy. well... angst/tragedy. it's called 'In This Life'. It's songfic-ish to James Blunt's "I'll Take Everything" and it's probably one of the most emotional things i've ever written. i really hope you guys like it. it's not related to ILAW so no worries... remember, i promised a happy ending for this story.**

**hope you guys enjoy the new stuff,**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_Where does it hurt?  
Tell me 'cuz I understand  
The words of the heart  
Beating like wings in my head_

_We can't hide, we'll never lie  
I'll always see into you..._

_So whenever you crash  
Wherever you land  
That's where I'll be_

_~Alexz Johnson, Where Does It Hurt?_

* * *

We arrive in Japan and make the ten mile hike up the mountain. Ron reminisces about his first time doing it.

"Of course I packed like eight billion things, and I had to drag them all up the mountain. I was dying by the time I got up there. Oh and my nacos were all smashed up and soggy. I was so upset..."

I chuckle. "Silly."

"Yeah yeah." He laughs too. "The worst part of it all was that Yori was doing the hike in her school girl outfit, you know, and she was all like 'Come on, Stoppable-San,' and this and that, and she was doing this hike like it was a walk in the park in Lowerton, which is like two feet wide. I should have known this wasn't a normal school at that point."

"And I'm sure the only reason she had so much patience is because she was so _charmed_ by your American-style—"

"Can we please not go there? I'm begging."

I kiss his cheek. "Okay. Are you hungry?"

"Oh KP, baby, you should know me by now."

We take a break for lunch and he keeps telling me about his adventures and misadventures in this place. It makes me happy to see that even though his powers cause him so much pain and bitterness, he still holds this school and its people in high regard.

When we get to the school, one of the students lets us in and welcomes us with a deep bow. Ron returns the bow with a smile. They speak for a moment and then he takes my hand and tugs me through the school and down a secluded path that leads to a... garden?

"I spent a lot of time here when I first left... I helped them build it," he says quietly, dropping my hand and moving toward the center of the large space.

I look around. It feels surreal, like something out of a movie. Climbing roses and ivy climb up and over the stone walls. A small pond was built. It's irregularly shaped, and it has a small cascade that leads to a lower portion of it where there are koi fish. Thousands of flowers grow all over the place, and the path gives way to a carpet of the softest grass I've ever seen. There are lanterns in certain areas, amongst the flowers and shrubs and around the small pond, giving the garden an almost ethereal glow.

"Do you like it?"

I wipe at my face, not realizing that I'd teared up until now. I nod, internally berating myself for crying. It's just a garden, right?

He pulls me toward a small stone bench surrounded by flowers. "Have a seat. Sensei will meet us here soon."

"What is this place?" I ask, bursting with curiosity.

He points to the edge of the garden then stares at his hands. "Yori is buried here. This garden was built as part memorial, part grave marker I guess. She would have liked it here." He is silent for a moment. "I never meant for her to get hurt."

The corner of the garden is a stone grave... almost like a shrine. His tears fall freely now, and I wrap my arms around myself, resisting the urge to wrap him in my arms and telling him that everything is okay. He needs to let this out, and I need to let him.

"I read about a lot of other things in her journal... not just the mystical monkey stuff. I learned about her life since she graduated from here, her friends... she was like you," he smiles sadly.

"You miss her."

"Almost as much as I miss you."

"I'm here, Ron," I whisper. "I'm not dead."

"Yeah not for lack of want. They would have..." he swallows hard, and his fists clench. "He wanted to do to you what they did to her."

"But he didn't."

He squeezes his eyes shut. "How am I supposed to continue using this... power... if it's caused nothing but pain and adversity and death?" He clears his throat. "How am I supposed to teach my sister to become something that causes so much..."

"Ron-san, when something so powerful is used for good by someone who is genuinely good at heart, there is always adversity, and sacrifices must always be made."

He looks up, releasing my hand to stand and bow. "Sensei."

The older man waves him off. "You are family here, there's no need for formality. Welcome, Kim Possible."

I smile up at him and take Ron's hand again. "Sit, Ron."

He does, and I lean on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me. "I do love you," he says. His voice cracks and I look up at him in concern.

"Come, Stoppable-San. We must prepare you for your training."

**RPOV**

The week flies by, and I quickly realize that Kim was right. I needed this. It does get worse before it gets better though. My first three nights there I slept for _shit. _She, unfortunately, had to bear the brunt of my sleeplessness most of that time...

She's been training some... and she's spending a lot of time in the library. At night we talk about our day, and I start telling her about some of the things I've talked about with Sensei...

Tonight is a bit strange. Tonight she approaches me, a contrite expression on her face that has me immediately concerned. "KP what's wrong?"

She leans into my chest, wrapping her arms around me.

I rub circles on her back. "KP?" I try to sound soothing. "What's wrong, Kimmie?"

She mumbles something into my shirt I don't understand.

"What was that?"

She pulls away and sits down on the ground. "I'm sorry, Ron."

I frown in confusion. "What the fuck for?"

She shakes her head and buries her face in her hands. "I've been so... _me,_" she says with a self-depreciating chuckle. "Stubborn and unyielding and..."

"What are you on about, Miss Possible?" I ask with a smirk as I sit and pull her down next to me.

"Sensei asked me about... you know, us." she sighs. "I told him that I was... am... still torqued about you leaving, and then leaving _again_ after everything—"

I stare at my hands.

"He says that I'm being controlling and demanding. And hypocritical."

I bristle at that a bit. "How so?"

"Because... we're here because you have unfinished business with Han. And I practically made you come. But... when we were in Greece and you said you had to finish some stuff I was so sore about it... but I mean, either I want you to finish your business or I don't you know?"

I shake my head. "I understand where you're coming from, though, KP. I mean, I'd just come back from... and we were doing well when I had to go again, and you had doubts about my commitment. How could you not, after I'd been gone so long?"

"I'd just gotten you back," she whispers, tears spilling from her eyes. "I miss you so much."

I haul her into my arms. "I miss you too, Kimmie."

"I wish I'd just talked to you about how I felt instead of just... being angry."

"Me too," I answer honestly.

"He was right, and Josh was right. I've been so selfish..."

"KP you were hurt... and I've been selfish too."

"No, you've been punishing yourself and in my own blindness and selfishness I've been helping you beat yourself over the head over what happened."

I sigh. "KP I know what happened between us was my—"

"No it wasn't. It was me holding a grudge."

"Kim—"

"I'm sorry. I didn't trust you simply because I didn't let myself. You have more than proven yourself to me and to our children."

I smile down at her. "All three of them."

I hear her sniff. "All three of them," she echoes tearfully. "Thank you for being an amazing father."

"I love them, and I love you." I sigh into her hair. "We should never have let things get as ugly as we did. We're best friends first remember? Best friends tell each other everything."

She nods into my chest. "From now on, we'll tell each other everything." She looks up at me, her green eyes full of tears. "I do love you," she whispers.

I squeeze her as tightly as I can. "I know, Kimmie. I know."

* * *

The rest of my second week in Yamanouchi is spent in training. I work up to sixteen hours a day on my powers and fighting techniques. Sensei pushes me hard, making me read up on everything possible about the mystical monkey power and scheduling meditation time in for me as well as time for KP and I to train and meditate together. By the time I collapse into bed (which I found out my first time coming here consists of the floor, a pillow, and a blanket) I'm so exhausted that I'm asleep five minutes into my nightly conversation with Kim. Ever the patient one, she always simply curls up next to me, pressing a kiss where she can land one and whispering good night in my ear.

She watches me train often, looking on with a slightly amazed expression when I start using my powers again, giving me suggestions and tips when I fight. She helps me snag lunch from the ninja lunch lady and she teaches some basic moves to some of the novices in the afternoons when one of the regular teachers gets sick. I watch her teach, and I'm amazed by her patience, and her... hands off approach. Last time I saw her teach, it was her brothers' soccer team and she ended up... _being_ the team, instead of _teaching_ the team. She also got herself fired.

But she's a mom now, and I guess that has made a world of difference.

When I'm not training, which starts happening more and more as the week goes on now that I think of it, I'm talking with Kim. She's opened up to me a whole lot, and in turn I've found that conversation has started to flow as freely as it always used to be. It is easier to tell her how I feel, and I'm less afraid of her being angry, or turning on me or leaving. We haven't fought since we got here, come to think of it. I think Sensei is the cause of all that. He's taught us both a lot about ourselves and each other and I've seen our relationship grow by leaps and bounds. Things in the physical department are heating up too...

The best part is that I think... _finally_, she trusts me.

I guess that realization came about when someone attempted to break into the school and steal some magic spell written on a scroll... and Yamanouchi's library has nothing but scrolls for a good two floors. Needless to say, they ransacked they library, as well as Sensei's private quarters. They injured two of the newer kids in the process of trying to escape... and Kim was teaching them when it happened.

We managed to catch the crooks without anything serious happening. It amazed me how simple it was for us to be Team Possible again, after all the time that had passed since we'd done a mission together. She didn't treat me like a sidekick, either. She actually let me lead, never questioning anything I did or asked her to do.

We worked as efficiently as always... well, except when the one guy went to punch me in the gut and accidentally untied my gileaving me with my underpants flapping in the wind... _again_. The camo boxers Kim got me for our second anniversary that say 'Team Possible' on my ass in shiny letters. You have got to be _fucking _kidding me.

It's a good thing my girls weren't around. I miss my girls. We're so going home this weekend... whether I'm ready or not.

"What's on your mind?" my girl bounces over to me, plopping herself down next to me with a hug and a kiss.

"Just the girls," I say to her with a smile. "I miss them."

"Ready to go home?"

"Definitely."

"Maybe home can come here," she says, her voice sounding very devious.

"Whaaaat are you talking about?" I ask suspiciously.

"DAAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Twin little voices are suddenly shrieking, and twin little arms are struggling to climb into my lap. I help them up and hold them both close.

"Daddy missed you," I mumble into Danni's hair.

They both kiss my cheeks and Hana, upon finding me, promptly knocks all of us over. The process happens again with Kim, and we decide to take a break to catch up with our girls and with Shego, who brought them in because she had a mission and Kim's mom and dad couldn't take the girls.

Sensei meets the girls over dinner, talks to my daughters, and takes a walk with Kim. They come back a half hour later and she has a very contemplative expression that has me immediately suspicious.

As soon as the girls are off to bed, I turn to her. "Okay, what's up?"

"Nothing," she says, but her voice is ten shades of devious, and her expression is sort of flirty. Hmm...

"Nothing?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Well today is Friday."

"And?"

"Well you know, Friday has always been my official Ron night."

It's _Ron_ night, and they girls are staying with Shego. I like the way my girl thinks.

**KPOV**

It's the end of a month we've spent in Japan. Ron's abilities have grown exponentially. Now, the only time I've seen him glowing blue and all that was back with the Lorwardians. But since then, I've seen traces of that raw power within him. His warm honey eyes always turn an icy electric blue when he gives himself over to the mystical monkey power. His blade, which he now keeps as a pocket knife at all times, seems to become a part of him as he trains with it.

We researched a lot about his powers, both separately and together. He learned all about where it came from, why it was hidden, and what prophecies the people who knew about it had written regarding his life. Sensei shed light on a lot of things that seemed unclear to us, and helped Ron with some decisions he's had to make regarding what will happen when he gets home.

And it is definitely time to go home. One of the graduate students, now a helicopter pilot, graciously agrees to take us to the airport, and we pack our things, saying goodbye to the friends we've made.

Ron spends a lot of time alone in Yori's garden. When he returns, there's a subdued, restful smile on his face.

"Everything alright?" I ask, searching his face.

His smile turns brilliant. "Yeah," he breathes, brushing my hair away from my face before pressing his lips to my forehead. "Everything is okay now."

I kiss his cheek and lead him to the helicopter. Sensei is waiting there for us.

"Take care, my son," he says quietly to Ron. It's the first time he's ever referred to Ron that way, and it puts a lump in my throat.

"You too," Ron croaks, bumping his fist before wrapping him in a hug. He's contemplative and silent as we make our way to the airport, and while we check in and pass through security. The security guard waves us through with a smile when he sees our IDs and plane tickets, quietly thanking us in Japanese with a slight bow.

Ron nods in return, answering him in Japanese.

I picked up some Japanese while we've been here. I can follow conversations now, if they speak slowly enough. Ron promised he wouldn't let me forget, and so while we wait for our flight to board, he goes online and orders me Rosetta Stone's Japanese study course, as well as like fifteen different workbooks, movies, and Japanese TV shows.

"What's all this for?" I ask.

He gives me a lopsided grin. "My efforts to help you not forget your Japanese. This is how I learned."

"I had wondered about that... you'd only been here a couple times, and I didn't really believe that you learned Japanese in a week."

"I didn't," he says sheepishly. "It took me a few weeks to get the basics down. It was a few months before I could hold a fluent conversation. It's a pretty language, I like it."

"We should learn another together."

He tilts his head. "Yeah? What are you thinking?"

"I don't know... maybe we should learn something a bit more simple, like French, or Spanish. Or maybe something completely different."

"Would you like to learn Hebrew?"

I stare at him. "You know _Hebrew_ too?"

"Duh, KP," he says with a chuckle. "You were at my _Bar-Mitzpah. _I wasn't reading the Torah in English."

This is true. "Did you... I mean, did your parents speak it too?"

"Eh," he says, moving his hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "My dad was born and raised here, and his parents were Polish. My mom's parents were not Israeli either, although they were raised there. My mom spoke Hebrew fluently, she's the one that taught me."

"I didn't know that about your family," I said quietly.

He gives me a sad smile. "I don't know much about it either. I mean, my parents always talked about their families, but I tuned them out sometimes. Now I wish I'd listened."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he says, pulling out his wallet so that he can put his credit card number in for yet _another_ Japanese film.

"You guys... I mean, your family was Jewish, but you... I mean, I remember when we were kids, your parents always made us stay in on Saturdays, and they didn't let us watch TV or any of that. But over time, they... did they lose faith, or something?"

Ron shook his head. "No... I don't think so. I um..." he rubs his neck with a rueful chuckle. "I haven't kept a Sabbath in years," he mumbles. "I think we just... I mean, after my thirteenth birthday, for some reason we just... I don't know how to explain it. And then, with all of this monkey power stuff... I just don't see how they'd mix. I didn't ask for this, but I sure as hell can't get rid of it."

"You don't still want to, do you? Get rid of your monkey power, i mean."

"No," he says with a smile. "I'm... okay with who I am now." he smirks at me, winking. "Done with the Spanish Inquisition?"

I punch his arm.

He tilts his head, studying me. " I know you. What's on your mind, KP?"

I suck in a breath. "Would you be willing to try... I mean, Saturdays are always days off for us anyway. Would you be willing to make it like a family day... even if you don't want to go back to syna—"

His arms wrap around me, squeezing me hard and cutting me off. His lips find mine, and I'm breathless for a moment. "I'd love that," he breathes into my hair.

I lean into his chest. Everything is going to be okay.

* * *

Things are different now. Our weekly Saturday night talks have taken on a bit of a different overture over the last three and a half months. We spend the day together, all of us, regardless of whose weekend it is with the girls or whatever. I think that that system has slowly been nullified, seeing as how Ron has taken to coming around a couple times a week besides hanging out with us on Saturdays. He always makes us breakfast, and then we spend the day with the girls either in the park or to Sherri's house where they can swim and such. At night, we tuck them in together and wait for them to fall asleep. Then when it's just us, we talk.

We tell eachother everything now. We talk about the girls still, but sometimes we take the girls to Mom's and tuck them in there so we can go out to dinner or to whoever's place is empty at the moment. It's peaceful now, there isn't any arguing. We talk a lot about us, about his sessions with the GJ counselor, and about his plans for the future.

Tonight he looks sort of tense as he unlocks the door. I follow him to the couch, concerned. "Okay, what's the sitch?"

He leans forward, putting his knees on his elbows. "Does Yori Anne wake you up a lot?"

"All the time," I grumble, half to myself.

"So it's not just you? What do you think it is? I mean... I feel like I'd know if she just wanted attention."

I remain silent.

"What should we do?"

"Talk to her, I guess. I mean... she's a kid. She's gonna be afraid of the boogey man and monsters in her closet... God knows you slept with a night light until you turned sixteen." I smirk. "Maybe it runs in the family."

His face turns bright red and he buries it in his hands. "Gee thanks, KP. On the bright side, if she sleeps with a night light until she's a teenager, she'll never get a date."

I burst into laughter. "You're already worried about them dating?"

"Well your dad's threats were scary but unrealistic, you know with black holes and deep space probes... I can't exactly scare them away by confessing to multiple homicides."

I wrap my arms around him. "You don't have to scare _all_ their dates away, just the ones that give me the creeps."

He grins. "I can live with that, KP."

"In the mean time, we need to figure out what's got our blondie in a funk."

"Do you think she's got some sort of sibling rivalry beef with Danni?"

I shake my head. "No... they seem to be getting along fine. Just the opposite, actually, Yori Anne makes it a point to play with or near Danni."

"Do you think it's a daycare thing?"

I contemplate that, and he tilts his head. "We're going to call their teachers tomorrow."

"It's Sunday, they probably won't be there—"

"Wade can probably get us their home and cell numbers."

I nod in agreement. Two text messages later, Wade tells us he'll send us their phone numbers, emails, and complete background checks.

"Now that that's out of the way, lets talk about something I should have asked you a long time, even before Japan."

"Oh?" I ask, shifting as he wraps his arms around me and leans us against the arm of the couch.

He hovers over me for a moment, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. His lips find mine and my breath catches in my throat the way it always does when he kisses me. "Kimmie?" he murmurs against my lips.

"Mm?"

Suddenly he looks sheepish. Sheepish and nervous. "I... forgive me, KP, for not asking you this sooner... but will you... I mean, will you be my girlfriend? You know, again? Officially?"

I have to chuckle at how flustered he looks. "Yes. Ron, I'll be your girlfriend. Again. Officially."

"Really?"

I giggle. "Yes, really—mm," he cuts me off with another kiss.

"I love you," he mumbles squeezing me to him and kissing my hair.

"I love you too," I whisper into his chest. "We're gonna be okay."

* * *

"KP."

"Ron what—I thought you were going to take the—what the heck?"

"Help," he mutters pitifully. He's got both girls in his arms, and their bags hanging from his shoulders. He looks stressed.

"Oh dear," I mutter, taking the girls' bags and dropping them near the door. I take Yori Anne from his arms and notice immediately that she is burning with fever. "What is it?"

"Some sort of stomach bug," he says, sighing his relief.

I motion to Danni, also in his arms.

"Sick too," he answers.

"You've got to be kidding me," I mutter, taking Yori Anne to her room. He follows along, tucking Danni in. His brow furrows in concern as he brushes the hair sticking to her forehead away. "When did this start?"

"Danni went down first," he mumbles. "She started throwing up at about three. I figured maybe Yori Anne... but then she got all feverish and she kept telling me her stomach hurt... n I was like you've got to be _fucking_ kidding me."

"I'm going to go make coffee," I announce dully.

"Why?" he asks, partly curious and mostly alarmed.

I smirk at him. "It's going to be a long night."

* * *

It's been a long night. A long night _from hell_. At about two, Yori Anne started with diarrhea and Danni woke up vomiting shortly thereafter. Ron escaped, citing that he was going to go find some Pedialyte and bottled water to keep the girls hydrated. When he returned, he informed me that he, too, was starting to feel 'crummy in the tummy', as he eloquently described it. Now, it's six-thirty, and I have three miserable, feverish, stomach flu babies to take care of. Fucking brilliant.

"How are you holding up?" I ask Ron.

"Like shit," he grunts, sitting up when he smells chicken broth. When he sits up, he looks green for a second, and then he runs for the bathroom, heaving.

At least the girls are asleep now. They went down at about three or four, and I figured their tired little bodies would be greedy for rest. But then, that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Fifteen minutes after Ron's failed broth attempt, Yori Anne wakes up with painful colics.

Not to be outdone, Danni cries after throwing up again. Where the fuck did they catch this? And now they gave their poor father the cooties too. Although he's been sleeping, curled miserably on the couch most of the day with his arms wrapped tighty around his midsection. With a bucket next to him.

Danni and Yori Anne finally start keeping down broth and such early in the afternoon, and they definitely sleep a long time. It's midnight before Ron comes back from the miserable dead, and he looks like a corpse. I help him into the breakfast nook and give him a glass of water and some of the girls' purple pedialyte stuff.

He tastes it and chokes. "Dear God how do they drink this crap?"

"Maybe when you're sick you don't notice how awful it really is."

He chases it down with the water and sighs. "KP."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Always," I answer him with a smile.

"You always take the best care of me."

I sit across from him, taking his hands in mine and looking him in the eyes. "So do you," I tell him. And it's true. If there's any man willing to take care of his family, it's Ron Stoppable. I know that, now.

He squeezes my hands, and tears sting in his tired eyes. "Thank you."


	25. Slumber

**Welcome back guys. Thanks for your support.**

**Speaking of support... I didn't realize my new short story would get such a strong response. I'm really glad you guys liked it. If you haven't read it yet, please check it out! It's an HEA story, post-graduation, so no angst or any of that stuff. I think I've worked out most of that in this story, don't you? Oh and while you're at it, check out the other short story I wrote, Cold. I'm expanding it... I promised an alternate, non-tragic ending, and I decided to go full length with it. More details on that later, but for now read the short one. I like it a lot, and I hope you will, too.**

**Fear not, there is not any drama in this chapter. A little mishap, but nothing too out of control. Ron makes an important decision here... last time someone threatened and insulted his girl, he made the choice that almost cost him everything. This time, he'll choose a little bit differently; he'll choose controlling himself and the situation, and that is a very big deal.**

**oh and thanks to Levi for helping me with this chapter again.**

**Enjoy the less-severe ride,**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_"Tongues are violent,  
personal, and focused;  
tough to beat with  
your steady mind,  
but hearts are stronger after broken."_

_~Slumber, Need to Breathe_

* * *

**RPOV**

I did decide to work with Global Justice... we worked it out where it was sort of by commission. Well, we get paid a salary, and also for going on missions, which I get one or two a month... certainly not as tiring as when Team Possible was getting four or five missions a week. But it pays the bills, and between that and my parents' investments that they left me, I'm definitely more than set to take care of myself as well as KP and the girls.

I got sad news last week that I'm going to remedy today. The owner down at the Fight Club is having some financial issues, and so he's contemplating closing his business. His son, who KP and I saved from an elephant stampede (super epic shudder) was recently diagnosed with leukemia and he doesn't have the money to pay for treatments... unless he sells out or closes and gets a job that will give him insurance.

So I'm going to offer him the first option. I step in the door and ask for him. The receptionist kindly points me toward his office, I find him sitting dejectedly with his head in his hands. I shudder to think what it would be like to find out that one of my girls has cancer. I think I would die.

I speak. "Rumor has it you're looking to sell."

He just sighs. Then, after a beat, he looks up, in a double take. "Wha—"

"I have a proposition for you." I tell him the details of my plan, and when I finish he looks completely blown away.

"Why... why are you doing this?"

I study my hands. "Because I have kids, too. I can't... I would die if I had to go through something like this. And because... I know what it's like to leave everything, and have no guarantee that you'll be able to come back once you walk away. That is why I made this offer, really... so that there's some guarantee that you'll be okay when you're ready to come back. You don't have to leave your business. You don't have to walk away or sell out or close it. I will take care of it. KP and Shego and I... we all did some growing up here, as well you know. We're fond of this place and we'd be too sad to see it go. So my offer stands. Have your suits take a look at this and get back to me," I tell him, handing him a folder with all the necessary paper work.

He takes the folder with a dazed nod.

A week later, I get the call that I know officially own 50% of the Fight Club. The first thing I do is get Josh and Wade to redesign the website. After several meetings, there's a business plan in place to attract more students, do some renovations, and generally make it a kickass place to be... literally. We also officially renamed it The Fight Club. Before it had no name, it just said "Learn all forms of self defense" on it. The guy who owned the place before him had it as a boxing club, so when he bought out the boxing club, he kept them and their trainers all on, so it became a strange mash up of every-possible-way-to-beat-the-living-shit-out-of-a-human-being studio. It was sort of not very great for marketing the way he had it before, and when I told him how KP and I called it, and how it rubbed off on Shego and practically everyone we knew, he liked it immediately. So now, it's called the Fight Club, complete with a trademark.

Josh will come up with a logo for it, and Wade more than gladly got the necessary people to build our new sign and such.

I'm looking at one of the expense reports when my cell phone rings. "Hey KP, what is it baby?"

"Ron," she whimpers, and I immediately sit up straight.

"KP what happened?"

"I need you to come get me," she says shakily, obviously working to control her tears. "I had a car accident."

"Shit... are you okay?" I'm out of my seat in a second. Fuck where are my keys?!

She's crying in earnest now. "I swear to God I didn't see the stop sign! And then I drove through and then the other guy clipped the rear drivers side and then I was spinning... I hit the fire hydrant, and now I'm soaked and the car is totaled. Ron, I need to borrow your car. Danni... they said she got sick at daycare... just please, I need to see her. She's at Middleton Medical—"

"Wait a second. I thought your car was missile proof."

"It is. But I didn't bring it... I was with mom on a thing and I sort of took her keys and ran."

"You totaled your mother's car?"

"I'm sorry," she cries.

"Are you okay?"

"Scrapes and bruises. I need to see Danni."

"I'm going to go pick your mom up and take her to the hospital. You can't leave there yet, KP baby, the police are going to want a report."

She cries more.

I sigh. Today is going to be a long day.

* * *

When I get there, the guy in the other car, who's just some asshole suit that reminds me of Dylan Pendry, is all up in KP's space. KP is not crying anymore. She's wound way up and her face is red. Her hands tremble in rage. I realize that she's working extremely hard to not clock the guy in his foul mouth. Maybe I'll do it for her, I seethe to myself as I catch the tail end of a colorful description of my girl. I see red.

"Excuse me," I growl at him, barely able to still my hands. I reach for KP, holding her in a slightly restraining grip. She buries her face in my chest. I lock my hands around her, rigidly suppressing my urge to lock them around the asshole's throat instead. How could he fucking talk about her like that?!

"Excuse you, what? Are you going to teach your stupid bitch how to drive? Did she miss the day in driver's ed when they tell you what the red sign means?" Kim stiffens and turns back to him. I'm pretty sure my arm around her waist is the only thing keeping her from throttling him. And my arm around her waist is the only think keeping me from throttling him. I never want her to see that side of me again, so I draw a deep, calming breath. Focus, Stoppable.

I get her to turn back to me, but she's restless with anger, and her hands are shaking badly. "Simmer down, Kimmie," I whisper to her. "It'll be okay." She leans into me again, and she seems calmer after a minute. She's done this before... she's listening to my heartbeat. It surges in response to her. The asshole wants to say something else, but I interrupt him, my voice dangerous."If you ever refer to her by anything other than her name again, you're going to be spitting out your teeth for the next three weeks, are we clear?" I rub her back, trying to keep her calm. Her stance reminds me of when that asshat keyed her car. She would have put him in a coma if I hadn't pulled her off him. My grip becomes restraining again.

"I'd like to see you try, asshole!"

"No," I tell him with a derogatory chuckle, "you really wouldn't. This girl is the mother of my child, who is sick today. She had an allergic reaction in daycare, and she was rushed to the hospital. You'll forgive her if she has more things to do than worry about douche bags like you in her way."

Kim's trembling hand fists in my shirt as she clutches herself closer to me. I squeeze her in response. Her warmth calms me a little, and it's for the better. If she loses it, I'm not above holding him down so she can beat the shit out of him.

"I really don't give a shit what her problem is that suddenly made her blind! I just need to close my deal."

"So your need to pay for your stupid fake Armani suit and fancy car trump my daughter's health and your ability to abide by the laws of traffic, huh?"

I swear I just heard Kim growl. Part of my mind absently observes that it's sexy when she does that. The rest of me grips her in warning restraint again.

"She's the one that ran the damn stop sign!"

"So did you," I tell him, pointing to the red "4 Way" that is underneath the stop sign. "How fast were you going? This street is a thirty mile-per-hour zone. How do I know that you didn't run my girl off the road just because you were in a rush to close your stupid deal?"

"Fuck you!" he fumes. "Fuck you, fuck your stupid whore! Fuck you both!"

I clench my fists behind Kim's back. I won't fight this guy... I'll clock him in his stupid mouth, and then I wont be able to stop until he looks like road kill. Oh... road kill... now there's a thought.

The look on KP's face makes me think that she's not opposed to the idea of road kill either.

Shaking my head, I speak. My voice trembles with suppressed rage. "No, thanks. But I'll close your deal for you if you can't shut the hell up until the cops get here." Why didn't I get in my car and run this fucker over sixty times again? Oh right... my daughter's in the hospital, and KP needs... fuck.

His eyes widen, and he realizes how close I am to slaughtering him. He finally glares dully and goes back to his car, and I'm happy he's going to shut the fuck up now. I can concentrate on KP. I have to check her, make sure she's okay.

I pull her aside, and my hands automatically take inventory of her face, her skin, her body. She's not bleeding anywhere or anything. I kiss her hair. It's wet, and I figure it's from the water getting in the car from the hydrant.

She exhales, trying to calm down. Her hands are still trembling, but now her shoulders sag.

"Are you okay? Feeling dizzy, blurry vision, pain anywhere or nausea? Fuck... are you hurt? KP—"

"I'm fine," she says with a half sniffle, half chuckle as I drag my hand through my hair and rub the back of my neck.

"Can you drive? Are you... fuck, do you need an ambulance to check you?" I look around angrily. Where are the cops?!

"No," she says. "I'm okay, really. I'm just... all wet." She points to the fire hydrant which is still spewing water.

I chuckle at her. Luckily, I have my gym bag in the car. I hand her my towel and she sighs her relief. As she towels off her hair and wipes the runny make-up off her face. Then I rest my hands on her upper arms. "What I need now is your license number, your registration and insurance, okay?"

She nods and pulls out the stuff for me. I write down her license number and give it back to her, along with my keys. "I'll take care of this," I tell her. "Go on."

"Isn't that illegal?" She hisses at me.

"Relax," I tell her with a wink. "I'll take care of it. Besides, I have it on good authority that Officer Hobble is on duty today."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," the douchebag suit says, glaring between us and his stupid expensive car. Hey... it's not stupid, it's kind of sexy... I might get the Tweebs to help me invest in a new car for KP... or her mom, since this one is totaled now. Hmm...

In the meantime, I glare at the asshole. "You shut the fuck up," I tell him harshly. "You have no right to talk to any woman like this! Be lucky that you're alive and standing here so you can spout your assholish stupidities, and not on the way to the hospital or the morgue." And be lucky I didn't send you on your way to either one of those locations, asshole. I'll fucking expedite your trip if you keep looking at my KP like that. "I need my daughter to be checked on, and she is her mother, so she's going to go and check on our kid now. You're going to sit down in your uptight car, shut the fuck up, and wait for the cops. And be very careful to use her name; it's Kim Possible, and she's still on fantastic terms with the Middleton Police Department, and they'll take exception to you saying all the shit you just said. So watch yourself."

Kim peeks out from behind my arm, and I realize I've instinctively pushed her back against the car, shielding her from him. She's just staring at me. I turn to her, slightly alarmed and very pissed at myself for reacting to that prick in a way that could hurt her. I rub her back. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

She shakes her head mutely.

"KP?"

More blank staring.

"Kimmie? Baby, what—"

In a second, her arms are around me and her lips are on mine. I catch her automatically, responding to her kiss in surprise. "What was that for?" I ask in a daze when she finally pulls away.

Her eyes shine with happiness. "I love you," she says to me quietly. "I love you and I'm... proud of you." Then she gets in my car and pulls away.

* * *

When I get home that night, Kim is tucking little exhausted Danni into bed. I wait for her by the door. "How'd you get in here?" I ask her.

She grins. "Spare key."

"Wade told you where I leave my spare, huh?"

She looks sheepish. "I figured you'd want to be with them tonight. I um..." she flushes light pink. "I do too."

I pull her into my arms, squeezing her close. We sway lightly for a moment, and then she reaches up and kisses me again. "I'm glad you're here," I tell her.

She eyes me speculatively. "How hard did you have to work to not punch that guy?"

I heave a heavy sigh, then I smirk. "I kind of liked the image I had of running him over until he became a pancake."

She rolls her eyes with a groan, but then she watches me. "You really considered it too, didn't you?"

I clench my jaw, looking down. "When I got there he was still cursing you out. I only wanted to punch him then. But then he kept on... and I just saw red." I stare at my hands.

"Ron..."

"I know." I breathe a shaky sigh. "I just... you're everything good, KP. How am I supposed to let him get away with saying all that—"

"I did too," she says, and I look up in surprise. She's smirking at me. "You have no idea how glad I was that you got there. I was so pissed I could have run him over with his own stupid pretty car."

I laugh out loud. "You too, huh?"

She shrugs. "He wasn't worth the energy that would take. He's just an asshole, Ron. He didn't hurt me... it was an accident. Those happen, as well you know."

I nod. "I know. I'm... really trying, here, KP."

She nods. "I know." There's a beat of silence, and then she speaks."Ron?"

I look up as her fingers slip under my chin. "Thank you," she breathes. "Thanks you for taking care of me... for protecting me. I... I've done it myself for so long, it feels sort of strange. But I like it," she says, her cheeks turning pink again. She sucks in a breath. "I'm... gonna try harder to take care of you like you take care of me."

I don't know what to say, so I stay quiet.

She speaks again. "I'm proud of you."

I swallow hard as her words register in my brain, then crush her to my chest, breathing in her scent. She smells good.

"I love you," she mumbles.

"I love you too," I mumble back, closing my eyes. In moments, we're both asleep.

* * *

When I open my eyes again, it's to KP's distress next to me.

"KP?"

"Oh..." she whispers, and I sit up in alarm as she exhales sharply.

"Kim?"

"Everything hurts," she whimpers.

"Lights," I warn her as I scramble to my feet and switch on the lamp and the overhead light.

She blinks at the brightness as she struggles into a sitting position. "Oww," she hisses, and I see tears travel down her cheek.

I scramble over to her, tripping over myself as I rush to check her. She's bruised everywhere. She has an awful mark where the seat belt burned her collar bone, and she has angry red marks on her hands and arms from the glass. I realize that her face has them too. One or two on her forehead, one on her jaw and several on her shoulders. Damn it, I should have insisted that she get checked! I curse myself internally as I help her out of her shirt. There's more burning and bruising on her torso from the seat belt. I reach for my cell.

"Mrs. Dr. P?"

"Ron... it's two in the morning, what's wrong?"

"Ron! You woke up my mom?" KP is pissed but I don't really care.

"Can you come over and check out KP? She didn't want to go to the hospital but she's in tears from pain... just please tell me if I have to take her to the hospital?"

"You mean she didn't go after the accident?"

I shake my head, but then I realize she can't see. I'm about to say it out loud, but she seems to have taken my silence as the correct answer.

And now she's pissed at KP. "Put her on," she growls, and I hand the phone to Kim with a smirk.

She listens for a moment but then she frowns. "I'm fine, just sore." she sighs. "I didn't need to—" her face gets angry and she draws a breath to protest. "But momma—fine," she says, glaring at me. She hangs up. "Mom says she'll meet us in the ER."

After getting the girls up and ready, I help her into one of my hoodies and scoop her into my arms, carrying her bridal style to the car. Tucking her into her seat, I brush her hair out of her face and squat next to her. "You okay?" She nods, and I can tell she's already trying to suppress her reactions to pain, trying to toughen up for the doctors in the ER. I raise an eyebrow at her, letting her know that she's not fooling me. "You okay?" I ask again, an edge slipping into my voice.

Her lip quivers a little, and her nod is a little bit more shaky. A tear slips from her eye and she wipes at it, upset with herself. I sigh and stand, putting my drowsy, grumpy babies in their car seats and going around to the driver's side. I hear her breathe a shaky laugh. "What are you laughing about over there?" I ask her suspiciously.

She breathes a laugh again, wincing at the pain she's in. "You forgot pants," she whispers, and I look down in confusion.

Sure enough, there are brown silky shorts with a ferret head wearing a mask on the leg and 'fearless' printed on my ass... my new fearless ferret boxers.

Well... fuck.

* * *

By the time we get to the hospital, Kim is a hyperventilating mess. I guess she's having a panic attack... I've had enough of those to know one when I see one. I try to keep her calm, but she only gets more upset as we get closer to the hospital. The more upset she gets, the more she aggravates her injuries, and the more pain she's in. The pain makes her panic more, and it becomes a vicious cycle I know will only go away when we get there that they can give her something to calm her down and help the pain.

Once I'm there, I can see Mrs. Dr. P. pacing just inside the triage entrance. I scoop KP up again, holding her close to me and being careful not to hurt her more. I vaguely hear Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P. conferring over something, and then Mr. Dr. P. says he's taking the girls home.

I nod at him, turning back to KP, who seems to be in a worse panic than before. I whisper nonsense to her, hoping to keep her calm, and she clings to me. Pain and tension roll off of her in waves, and I breathe an apology to her for not taking better care of her.

That snaps her right out of her funk, if only for two seconds to glare at me and tell me it wasn't my fault. I set her down on the exam table, and she clings to my shirt. "Please stay," she begs in a whisper.

I rub her back. "I'm not going anywhere," I mumble into her ear.

After a few minutes, a saline drip is set up and they inject her tube with some pain medication. It makes her drowsy, and soon she's calm enough to be wheeled down to get x-rays and whatever other scans Mrs. Dr. P. is ordering for her. She falls asleep while they're taking scans of her brain.

When she gets back to her room in the ER, I'm sleeping. When I open my eyes, she's watching me sleep on the chair next to her, her hand clasping mine tightly. "The girls?"

"Your dad took them home with him for the night," I tell her my voice raspy from being asleep. I scrub the sleep out of my eyes and look around for a clock. It reads 6:29 am.

I close my eyes again. "How do you feel?" I ask after clearing the sleep from my throat.

"I'm okay now," she says evenly. Too evenly.

I open my eyes to glare at her. "You ain't foolin' me, KP." She studies her hands and I drop it. She'll talk when she's done with this bullshit. I'll just wait her out.

"Did you... um, did you square everything away with the insurance and the cops and all that?"

"Yeah. Took a while, but Hobble was on duty like I promised. He wasn't a fan of the other douchebag calling you unsavory things. Wrote him a ticket for running the stop light and threatened to have him arrested if he protested too much. I had to work really hard not to instigate something and land him in the hole for the night. It would have made my day though.

"The bad news is that he wrote you a ticket too, for speeding." Sucks too, 'cause speeding fines around here are expensive as fuck. Something like $150 for the first eight miles over the speed limit and then another fifty for every mph over the speed limit after that. KP's fine was for five hundred bucks. I'll go down to the courthouse and pay it off later on during the week, but it sure as hell is going to set me back a bit. And tickets that expensive put points on your license. When I tell her this, she stiffens.

"Sorry, babe. Law is law, and all that. You were speeding. Couldn't get you out of it. Trust me, even Hobble tried to find you a way out of it. Only way is court."

"It's... okay. I'll... have to work out a payment plan or something."

I shake my head. "No, KP. I'll take care of it. Just... promise you'll call me next time something like this comes up, okay? I'd rather you not got hurt." I sit forward and brush her cheek. It's moist from tears. "Don't cry, Kimmie," I tell her. "Everything is okay. Danni is fine, and you're okay too."

She sniffs a little, trying to control her tears. I move on to the bed and wrap her in my arms. "You're okay," I tell her over and over while she cries, rubbing slow circles on her back. Her hands clutch my shirt as the dam breaks and I rock us a little, hoping to soothe her. She stiffens.

"Does that hurt?"

She nods slightly into my chest and I lay her back against her pillows, willing her to rest. She doesn't let go of my shirt, and we end up sleeping tangled in each other until the doctor shows up several hours later telling us that KP is free to go, having suffered only bruises and strained muscles.

I carry her back to the car, tucking her into her seat. "I love you, Kimmie," I tell her, kissing her forehead.

She smiles sleepily at me, returning the sentiment with slurred, half-asleep speech. I chuckle at her a little and then head back to her place.

**KPOV**

Ron is driving me crazy! It's like a repeat of the plane crash. He won't let me out of bed for anything, and he's strictly prohibited the girls from waking me up. He conducts all his business from the house now, in between asking me how I feel every three seconds, cooking, cleaning, arranging for a car for my mother, and everything else.

I reach my limit after about three days.

"How do you feel, KP baby?"

"Fine, I'm fine," I snap at him, "kinda like how I was fine when you asked thirty seconds ago!" Hurt registers on his face before he looks pissed. He draws a breath to give an angry protest but I interrupt him, sorry I made him mad. "I... sorry," I relent. "I didn't mean to snap. I'm just... tired of this. I'll be okay, you don't need to hover so much."

He deflates. "Sorry, KP. I know I've been making you crazy... I just... I was so worried about you." He hangs his head. "I can't lose you, Kimmie."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He sits on the bed, leaning down and kissing my forehead. I turn my face to him, kissing him where I can land one. That happens to be on his throat, and his eyes are dark with desire when they meet mine. "Behave yourself," he says, half joking.

I make a show of drawing a halo over my head and he laughs. "Uh huh," he says, disbelief and amusement coloring his tone. "Angels don't get speeding tickets. And don't think I don't know about the others. I went to the courthouse to pay off this one, and they showed me three more you've got, caught by the radar."

I try to look properly chastised and he just grins. "Don't worry, I paid them all off."

I gape at him. "Ron... but those—"

"Don't argue, KP. It's already done. Besides, I want to take care of you."

"But you... I mean, you just did the thing with the Fight Club and you already do so much and—"

"Don't worry about it, KP baby. I'll be okay." He leans in again, his nose skimming my jaw before he kisses my cheek.

"Now who's misbehaving?" I mumble, feeling a bit incoherent. He just grins, and I glare at him as his lips continue to 'misbehave'. "Don't think I don't know your angle," I tell him, trying to sound mad. "You did this when you told me about the apart—I mean... when you told me about the apartment, you got all kissy so you could distract me from arguing about the—oh, stop it!" I huff at him.

He just chuckles against my throat. "I love you, Kimmie."

"Damn you for being all distracting and stuff," I mumble at him, giving up on being mad.

He pulls back to raise an eyebrow at me, a playful smile pulling at his lips. He's in a mood, and I can't help but grin at him. His fingers skim my cheeks before burying themselves in my hair as he pulls me into a hug. "I'm happy you're happy," I mumble into his chest.

His smirk is playful again. "Well, it makes me happy to take care of you, so indulge me, okay?"

I lost this argument the moment he started his misbehaving anyway, but I'm not going down without a fight. Pulling him to me, I kiss him hard, leaving him gasping for breath. Then I stand, making my way to the bathroom.

"Thank you," I tell him with a real smile before closing the door.

He just stares after me, his eyes all dark and sexy again.

* * *

**See? That wasn't too bad. Ron can think around his insane need to crush everything that crosses his girls... it took him some effort but now he's getting better. He and KP are more relaxed and affectionate... KP trusts him and wants to let him take care of her, and he's doing the best he can to stay out of trouble. things are looking up. Ron's going to have to try his anger management techniques a couple more times before he gets it down, so there's another chapter, and then the epilogue.**

**stay tuned for more,**

**~temporary insanity**


	26. This Is Home

**Well it's been toooooooo long. Hope you guys had a fantastic holiday. And now, for the epic conclusion to the story.**

**Yes, I'm using the title for this chapter is the title I used for the outtake. I did that on purpose. After I wrote this, I went back and read the outtake, and I had actually sort of made some of KP's feelings exactly the same. I didn't do that intentionally, but I'm always reading through my stuff, looking for typos or whatever and so when I re-read 'This Is Home' I decided I'd go back and edit it and make it an official chapter 26.5 (so look out for that). I think that her feelings then are important to her feelings now. The purity of the feeling of home that she had in that outtake is being restored here, and that is a big deal. **

**I sincerely hope you guys have enjoyed this. Yeah, it's been a bit intense, but I promised you a happily ever after. And as Ron and KP are making out on the couch across from me while I babysit their kids, I have to tell you, they are quite happy. XP**

**thanks for all your support,**

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

_I've got my memories_  
_Always inside of me_  
_But I can't go back_  
_Back to how it was_

_I've come too far_  
_No I can't go back_  
_Back to how it was_

_~This Is Home, Switchfoot_

* * *

When I wake up in the morning, I realize that I fell asleep in KP's bed, arms around her torso, face in her hair, legs tangled together... perfection. My tiny slice of heaven. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'll never give it up.

It's only six in the morning. Ugh. Perfection denied.

I untangle myself from her and do some paperwork and stuff in bed while I wait for her to wake up. They started to do some of the remodeling for the place, and I've been keeping Mr. McKinney, the other owner, posted on the progress and the costs and all that. I read over the plans they have and I smile. The Fight Club is going to be off the chain...

She stirs, snapping me out of my concentration. "Mornin' KP." I smile down at her, setting my laptop and folders aside so that I can kiss her. She looks all rumpled and grumpy and sleepy and it makes me want to kiss her more. So I do.

She gives a bit of a grunt in protest to my weight on her, and I pull back immediately. "You feel okay, Kimmie?"

"Sore," she mumbles. "Let me sleep."

"Okay," I tell her, tucking her hair behind her ear as she turns restlessly to her side. "I love you, Kimmie," I say quietly as her breathing deepens again.

I slip out of bed and make breakfast. I hear her moving around and I take the stairs two at a time. "KP?"

She looks busted, and I hustle her back to bed. She looks grumpy, but doesn't argue. I know she still feels like shit after that accident. Maybe I'll see about getting her physical therapy or something.

She glares at me as if she knows what I'm thinking. "I know that look, Ron. You're exaggerating everything in your head and you're going overboard. I'm _fine_ okay? Nothing is broken, and I've rested so much I probably sleep walk. You are not allowed to blow this out of proportion, do you hear me?"

I nod, properly chastised. I'm still gonna look into—

There's the eyebrow. Oh, and her fist is on her hip. Well fuck, she's officially pissed at me.

I try to make my face neutral, not wanting to argue with her. It's easier to diffuse fights with her now than it was before. I never want to go back to that. Not ever.

She watches me for a moment and sighs. "I know you... like to take care of me, of us. But you've got to trust me when I tell you I'm okay, alright?"

I nod. She's right, she'll let me know when she can't anymore. I just would rather be safe than sorry, and I tell her so.

She just kisses my cheek. "I love you Ronnie."

I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. She smells like Old Spice today.

For once, I don't feel sick at all.

* * *

KP doesn't end up needing physical therapy. I start helping her stretch and work out at home after a while until she can get back into her regular routine.

I asked her if I could try the healing thing on her, and she shook her head. She wanted to heal on her own, and I tried my best to respect her decision. It takes her a couple weeks to get back to normal, and her bruises take another week to finish clearing out. I stop hovering once she starts running and working out on her own again.

Josh is in my office when I get back to work, waiting to go over new logos with me. After we decide on designs and colors and such, I go a round or two with the punching bag, feeling wound up and chaotic.

I wish it were KP. Remembering how sexy her body would be after a sparring match makes heat surge through my body that has nothing to do with my work out, and I sigh.

I would spar with her... but I'm afraid of my anger now, and my PTSD. If I went all freaky on her that day, when she encouraged me to pretend she was Monkey Fist, there's no telling the bloody pulp I'd beat her to if I let my emotions control me during a match like that. I don't want that. I'll never take my problems out on her again. My mind flashes with the image of her being hurt because of me, and I flinch violently as I shower.

I get back into my normal clothes, settling back into work. I had hoped that the work out would clear my head a bit, but the last train of thought has me just as muddled as before. I need to... talk to KP.

Where's my phone...? Fuck.

I ransack my desk, still not able to find my phone. Where the fuck is it? I need KP. Maybe I can call her from my desk. I'll call the house and she'll be there and... fuck, shes not answering, why isn't she answering?!

I try her cell, messing up the number like four times before finally dialing correctly. It goes straight to voice mail.

My hands tremble, and cold fear suddenly claws its way up my spine. Where the fuck is KP? Oh God...

My stomach quivers as it reacts to the cold terror. The acid in it climbs along with the terror. My lungs constrict and my throat is bitter when I try to swallow hard. My heart beats wildly out of control as the cold terror makes its way up, finally swirling in my mind until I can hardly see.

I feel blindly for my chair, collapsing into it when I find it. I can't breathe. Oh fuck—

I don't know how much time passes, but a voice cuts through the confusion and fear in my mind. "Ron? Are you okay? Ron!"

It's my KP. Only her voice could reach me inside my mind like this. I reach for her blindly, wrapping my arms around her. Yup. That's her. She smells like Old Spice again. It doesn't make me sick now, either. Maybe it only made me sick when I wasn't around to smell it on her anymore.

Her skin is soft. I kiss it and it makes some of the warmth seep back into my brain, forcing back the cold terror. I kiss her more, and she starts running her fingers through my hair. It feels really good, and soon the tears falling from my eyes slow, eventually stopping all together. I try to time my breathing with hers, and she notices, because she stops murmuring things and starts taking slow, deep breaths.

After a long moment of silence, she pulls away slightly. "Better?" she whispers.

Suddenly, there's heat in my spine, not ice. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"

She looks confused. "What?"

"I bought you a damn fancy touch screen expensive phone so you could _answer _it! I thought something had happened to you."

She pulls away from me completely, her face confused, angry, and a little bit hurt. "It's in the car, charging," she says quietly. "It died, and I had to leave it in the car while I did the groceries. I haven't turned it on yet."

I swallow hard. "It _died_? Why didn't you charge it last night?"

"You know what? I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm going now. I brought lunch... I was going to eat with you. But I have a bunch of things to do anyway, and I have an online assignment due tonight, so I think I'll just go home."

She turns to go as I about reach my limit. My hand darts out to grab her wrist in an effort to stop her and explain that I was literally worried sick.

_Stop! _Some inner part of my brain makes the muscles in my arm freeze.

I was going to _touch _her... in _anger? _Oh my God.

Immediately, the cold terror wastes no time in turning my entire body into ice again. And this time I shrink away from her, afraid to hurt her. Oh God what if I'd hurt her?

A shudder rips through my body. I'd rather die.

Please let me die. I don't want to hurt her anymore. Please, please, please—

"Ron?" Her voice... it always cuts through the panic. It's like the magnetic north... I can use it to find my way back again. Please don't stop talking.

"Ronnie?" she whispers, and some part of my mind realizes that she's moving toward me. I don't resist the idea anymore, and she wraps me in her arms again. "Let's get you home," she whispers soothingly. "Did you forget your anxiety medication today?"

Now that I think of it, yes. I didn't take it, I was in a rush. Ugh, I'm such an idiot.

"Come on. You left half a bottle at the house, I'm going to take you there okay?"

I nod numbly, letting her lead me to her car. There sits her shiny white phone. The little battery in the corner reads 16% and I can sigh in relief. It just died. She wasn't in danger, my girls weren't hurt... she's okay.

The last of my panic drains from me, and I fall asleep.

* * *

I wake up in the dark. I'm somehow in her bed, but I don't remember how I got here. It smells like food, and I weakly wander down the stairs, wondering what's for dinner. Danni is allergic to soy among a host of other things, so Chinese is out of the question. It doesn't smell like Tex-Mex either. Hmm.

When I get to the kitchen, there's chicken and sweet and sour sauce and barbeque sauce and all kinds of stuff and I dig in immediately.

KP is watching me. "Do you want to tell me what happened today?"

I sigh, suddenly not hungry anymore. I wait for the cold terror to come again, but it doesn't. I bet KP gave me one of those tiny pills you put under your tongue. Those are supposed to calm anxiety. Xanax or something.

Happy that there's no fear, I reach for her. She comes to stand between my legs, hands tangled in my hair again.

"I... was thinking about when we used to spar," I mumble into the soft skin of her stomach.

"I was thinking about that too, today," she says, and there's a smile in her voice. It's a sexy smile, and I know her train of thought was very similar to mine.

"I wish I could spar with you, but... then I started thinking that I could hurt you and... the idea of hurting you was too much. I... had to stop my work out. And then I took a shower, but I was too wound up, and I just... and I figured if I called you, you'd make me feel better. But then I couldn't reach you and I just... I freaked."

"And then after?"

I gulp. "I... you were going to leave and I was still so... I don't even know why I was so upset... it was so out of control. And then... I reached out... I was going to pull you back."

She pulls away, studying me. "You reached for me, to make me listen."

"But I stopped myself," I blurted out. "I don't want to hurt you ever! I just... when I realized I could have hurt you out it made me... and then then I couldn't breathe again."

She squats, meeting my eyes. "Ron. I know you would never hurt me."

"But I—"

"Shh," she says, pressing her finger to my lips. I kiss it. And I like it, so I kiss it again. I think I have some addiction to kissing KP. Kiss-KP-a-holism. Or something.

She smiles a little, and her green eyes sparkle at the affection I'm offering her. "You see this?" she whispers as I kiss her palm. "This is why I know you wouldn't hurt me."

"KP... abusive people can be affectionate too."

"But you aren't abusive. You're hurt and angry, but somehow you _stopped yourself _when you thought that your actions would hurt me... and then you had a straight panic attack at the idea of inflicting pain on me. Two, actually." She looks sad at the last part, and I kiss her hand again. I don't want her to be sad. I'll be okay. She makes me okay.

"You _love _me," she's saying when I tune her in again. "For some reason... it trumps all of those other emotions that get so out of control inside of you."

"I can't live without you," I tell her brokenly.

"You don't have to," she says quietly. "Not ever again."

I stumble out of my chair so that I can kiss her lips instead of her hands.

* * *

We ask Shego to help me get back into sparring again. She agrees, telling me that she's been itching to kick some real ass for a very long time. I think that's her way of saying she missed sparring with us.

I refuse to spar with KP. She spars with Shego, and I spar with Shego, but I never fight KP. I watch her, though, and she gets infinitely better under Green Lady's guidance. They have entirely too much fun, and I grin, making a mental note to take them to an old lair or something so they can flip all over the place like I know they're dying to do in the relatively tiny space of the Fight Club.

When I do take them out to fight, I take them to an abandoned warehouse, full of dusty boxes and wooden crates. Shego goes all out, using her green fire and making KP scramble for a few very tense minutes. It makes me very tense, and I have to keep reminding myself that we're all friends now and Shego won't really hurt KP. My fists clench several times, and I grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut when KP grunts as she hits the ground hard. I take a deep breath. They are just sparring, I tell myself. KP is safe.

She jumps to her feet in a second and I know it's on again. Their grunts and shouts make heat rise in my mind. This is a different heat. This is the kind of heat that will get Shego killed in a second if I let my monkey power get out of control here.

They are okay. They are bantering like always... just blowing off some steam. KP won't get hurt. She's not really angry... she's not really in danger. It's all pretend.

There's no need for this, Stoppable. Chill the fuck out.

I force myself to relax, pushing my _gift _away and taking a deep breath. See? That wasn't so bad.

Some part of my mind makes it known to me just how graceful they are, how strangely beautiful it is to watch KP flying through the air in a perfect back lay out, landing silently on her feet with a devious grin on her face. When Shego attacks, she ducks out of the way fluidly, and Shego almost crashes into the wall as KP somehow leads her on a chase over the dusty boxes and crates, flipping over and over effortlessly before somersaulting to the ground again from at least thirty feet up. My heart catches in my throat more than once, and part of it is apprehension, but most of it is...

Dear God, she's so sexy. And now I feel short of breath for an entirely different reason.

KP cries out, and I find her trying to climb to her feet and gasping with the force of Shego's blows.

Shego is over her in a second, and I grit my teeth, focusing on deep breaths again. Luckily, KP somehow regains her leverage, finally getting Shego permanently down, for the win. The whole fight from start to finish, lasted about forty-five minutes. It might as well have been forty-five years.

I breathe a sigh of relief, as she grins at me, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you for this," she grins. The second she's within reach of my hands, I'm checking her everywhere. She pulls away with a laugh. "I'm okay," she says, kissing my lips sweetly. "Relax. Take a deep breath. I'm alright."

I wrap my arms around her, still discreetly checking her. She seems fine, and I allow myself to relax. Thank God that's over.

She pulls back and raises an eyebrow. "Ron," she says, her voice holding a warning edge.

I raise my hands in a gesture of surrender before wrapping her in my arms again. She squeezes me briefly, dropping a light kiss on my chest. Then she turns away, heading to the car.

Shego knows better than to try and approach me now, remaining silent until we drop her off at her house and I get out of the car to walk her to the door. "You uh... came close to tearing me limb from limb, did you?" she asks with a smirk.

I study my hands. "I knew you wouldn't actually hurt her. It was still hard. I had to keep reminding myself that she's... still _the _Kim Possible, the one that can handle anyone with an arm tied behind her back."

She smirks. "She can definitely take care of herself. If her handing me my ass on a platter wasn't any indication..."

"I know," I tell her, chuckling at her last comment. "She's always been independent. It was all I could do to stay out of it unless she called me, though."

She laughs. "I bet." She grows serious. "I... thank you for controlling yourself. I know it was difficult, and she's proud of you. So am I, actually."

"Thank you," I tell her sincerely.

She unlocks the door but turns back to me. "I love her too, you know. She's the closest friend I have."

I go back to the car, feeling significantly lighter.

**KPOV**

When we get home, Ron pulls me into his arms again. I know that tonight was an extreme exercise in self control for him, and he's both physically and emotionally drained. I rub his back, reveling in being able to comfort him like this. Until all of this happened, I didn't realize how much his mental and emotional well-being depended on me. Sure, I was always the one pushing him to get stuff done in high school, but I thought that was just... silly, lazy Ron. Now I realize that there's more to it than that.

We're two halves of a whole... and we were fortunate enough to be together all of our lives. However, were ridiculously _un_fortunate that we were torn apart the way we were... and I at least had my girls and my family, but he lost it all. It must be so horrible to wake up every day knowing that you have nothing except the hatred you carry in your heart. And he equates losing me to that. It makes sense, too... after all, he did leave me, _us,_ and everything behind because of what happened. So I guess, being afraid of losing me makes sense because without me, all he had was darkness, anger, hatred, and death.

How awful.

I hold him closer. I'll never let him go through it again. He is too beautiful and special to be surrounded by so much darkness.

And... I love him too much. And in this moment, the searing pain that tears through me makes me knees buckle. _I should have gone after him._ I'll never regret anything more than the day I said the words out loud, that he was too far gone for me to get him, or love him. I was so wrong.

"KP?" His hands frame my face, forcing me to look into his melting honey eyes. They are clouded with concern. "What is it, baby? Why are you crying?"

I'm crying? Hadn't noticed. I was too busy regretting the most miserable two or three years of my existence.

"Kimmie? Sit with me baby." His voice is low and soothing, and I willingly curl into him when we get to the couch.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper-squeak into his chest. The sound would be embarrassing, but I don't really care. "I'm sorry, Ronnie," I cry, begging him for forgiveness.

"What the fuck for?" he asks, confused and probably scared that I'm freaking out on him.

"I should have never let you go," I whisper, a shudder tearing through my whole body.

"What? No, Kimmie... I... fuck." He tugs his hand through his hair. "I didn't want you to find me... I didn't want you to see me so... _evil. _I just..."

"You wouldn't have been evil if you'd had me."

He shakes his head sadly. "No, baby. What was boiling in me would have only dragged you down with me. I wish... sometimes I wonder if it would have been different had I let you help me. But I just... I never would have—I mean, you wouldn't have gotten through to me. Not even Sensei did, can you imagine? That guy is like Solomon and Einstein reincarnated into one, ridiculously zen dude."

I shrug at that, and he pulls me to him. "I'm... just glad I have you now," he croaks, and I realize that he's teared up too. "I'll never go back to that. I'll... never be that way way again. You know that don't you?"

"I know," I tell him, and my voice is serene.

He looks at me, and in a second I see the conviction flash in his eyes, and the peaceful eternity I saw in his eyes when he asked me to marry me makes my chest constrict. He really wants me forever. He's never going back. I know that... but now something has shifted, and we both feel it. We are different now. We are going to be together forever.

He wraps himself around me again, laying me back on the couch and resting on top of me a little as he buries his face in my neck. I feel his lips trail soft kisses there, and I smile. Being in his embrace is peaceful, warm, and safe.

It feels like home.

* * *

In light of our recent epiphanies, along with a phone call from Japan and a good talking to from his therapist, Ron has decided to train with me again, so I'm going to spar with him today for the first time since the accident. When people caught wind that the new owner was going to be training in there with me today, everyone wanted to come watch. We decided to put on a bit of a show, just a short two or three minute, unofficial match. I'm so excited I'm practically vibrating. Even though it's supposed to last only a couple minutes, the other owner of the Club and all the students are actually here to watch us fight. Ron is just standing in the corner, sometimes smirking as he gets ready, like he's done every day since we got back from Japan. The Tweebs and Sophie came (Jim broke up with Dana... they seem to have fizzled out, much like Josh and I did back in the day). Saul is also here, sulking, but watching.

He and I haven't talked since we fought that night. He showed at the club a few days ago and Ron was growling like a rabid dog the entire time. "What do you want?" he had snapped.

"Nothing that's any of your business," Saul had tossed back, crossing his arms. "Get out of my way."

Ron's smirk and posture had been positively frightening. "Make me."

Saul tried to go around Ron, glaring at him when his way is blocked. Ron is taller than him by several inches, and he towered over Saul, his posture still angry. Saul shoved him out of his way and started toward me, but Ron was in his way again. "She doesn't want to see you."

"She's right there, she can fucking tell me that herself."

Suddenly pissed, I flipped him off.

Ron grinned. "See? Now leave."

Furious, Saul aimed a left hook at Ron, and he ducked out of the way.

It's easy to guess what happened after that. Two bruised ribs, a broken wrist, and sprained ankle later, Saul finally spit out what was on his mind. "I fucking hate you," he hissed. "You waltz in after years of being gone and you walk right back into her life like nothing happened, like you suddenly own the place. And _she_ worships the ground you walk on! Meanwhile the rest of us have to actually fucking work to get a girl like her to pay us any attention."

Ron had listened seemingly attentively. His voice was quiet and calm when he spoke, but I could tell he was positively livid. "You don't know anything about me or my relationship with Kim, so don't fucking talk about what you know _nothing_ about. Number one. Number two, KP and I have been tight since pre-k. She already knew everything about me when she agreed to be my girlfriend. She _knows_ me, and she wants me for me. I am what I am, I don't have to _work_ to get anyone's attention. You wanted her to get to know _you_ but then you worked to make an image you think she would like? Do you really think that would fly with her?" He gave a sardonic chuckle, then he got in Saul's face, glaring. "Stay the _fuck_ away from me, my family, my friends, and definitely _my_ girl. Got it?" He straightened and headed for the door, lighting a cigarette. "When I come back you'll be gone. If not, I'll have you banned from the property... you'd do well to remember who runs things around here now."

I had just stared on in stunned silence. I'm pretty sure my jaw was somewhere near my toes. Or that my eyes had widened to three times the size of my head. I don't really know.

So to say that I'm very surprised to see him here, after Ron beat the ever-loving shit out of him and told him to stay away, is the understatement of the year.

"Ready to rumble, Super Girl?"

"Bring it, Monkey Boy," I smirk back at him.

The place erupts into cheers and Ron grins. "Let's do this. I've got my monkey magic all revved up just for you _Kimmie_. My skills are undeniable."

I give him my best seductive grin as I circle around. "My skills have me undefeated, baby," I purr at him. "Let's see what you've got."

His eyes widen briefly and I attack, catching him off guard.

We tumble together a bit but the second we stop, I spring to my feet and attack again. He dodges me expertly, doing a leg sweep which I have to work to avoid.

"Come on, KP baby, get your head in the game," he says with a smirk.

"I'm just warming up," I respond, circling to my left.

His fist is like lightning, but I block it easily, getting off a few punches of my own. He has to work hard to block me, and he's getting sloppy, leaving openings where I can get in hits that make him grunt.

I aim for his jaw but he ducks, and this time his leg sweep sends me to the ground on my ass. In a second he's over me, grinning victoriously. I plant my feet against his gut and push as hard as I can, jumping to my feet as he goes sailing away from me. He skids on the floor a bit, but manages to use the same momentum to roll to his feet like he planned it that way.

I glare at him. "Show off."

"Pot and kettle much?" he grins in response, blocking a kick. I jump, spinning and grinning as my other foot connects with the side of his head, sending him tumbling. He lays there in silence, chest heaving, and I kneel over him, pinning his hands over his head.

Ron smiles up at me. "Great job baby girl," he says. Suddenly I'm on my back, hands pinned at my sides. "But still not good enough," he gloats.

I can feel the weight of his body on me, and it feels divine. I really don't care if he just cheated and I just lost. Which is weird... because I'm usually super competitive.

"I win," he whispers, leaning in to me.

"Cheater," I mumble at him as his lips descend on mine.

He chuckles and his tongue traces my lips before meeting mine.

Shelby clears her throat obnoxiously. "Alright you two! This is the Fight Club, not a sex club. Cut that shit out."

"Whatever," Ron mumbles, rolling his eyes and sitting up. "I'm hungry. I need a fucking naco."

I roll my eyes too. "Naco Boy, Monkey Boy, Captain Underpants... how many nick names have you earned yourself since I've known you?"

He gives me a withering look.

I grin. "Come on, cheater pants. Let's get you that naco."

He smirks. "Loser pays."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Saul stomp toward the exit. Good riddance, if you ask me.

Eewww, he _likes_ me! That's just...

"KP? Houston paging Kim! Helloooooooo!" I look up at Ron, who is staring at me in concern. "Hey. Where'd you go, baby?"

"Uh... nowhere," I mutter.

He looks at the door. "What happened? Did you... see something? Someone?"

I shake my head and he wraps his huge hands around my upper arms, his honey eyes boring into mine. "Kim, if you don't feel safe, you need to tell me now."

"No, Ron, nothing like that," I assure him hastily. "I promise. Let's get you some grub okay?"

He studies me for a moment, then he gives a resigned sigh. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"It will make you angry."

"Kim, what my imagination is coming up with right now is a thousand times worse than anything you tell me."

I give up. "It was Saul, okay? He was here to watch the fight, I saw him before, and now I just saw him leave. He hasn't tried to talk to me since we argued and now suddenly he's here to watch my fight?"

His gaze hardens infinitesimally. "You should have told me that fucker was here earlier."

"He's not worth mentioning... forget I said anything okay? He is just... someone I thought was a friend, and I was wrong. Leave it be."

"Okay... but if he gives you trouble—"

"I'll handle it." I kiss his cheek. "I promise I will tell you if it gets out of hand."

"Okay. One more thing."

I turn back to him and he captures my lips with his, leaving me breathless.

"You missed," he smirks, pointing to my lipgloss on his cheek.

I wrap my arms around him and lean into his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiles back at me.

* * *

"I have something for you." I look up from my salad just as he pulls his hand out of his pocket.

He places something shiny on the table and I gasp. The bracelet... and the ring. "Ron, I... I don't know what to say," I whisper, still gaping at the jewelry.

"Say you'll forgive me for adding insult to injury. They were yours, I shouldn't have taken them."

I stare between him and the jewelry like an idiot.

He just chuckles. "What?"

"So does this mean you... want to marry me again?"

He shakes his head with a sad smile. "I want more than anything to spend forever with you. But we aren't ready."

He's right. Just because we made huge strides in Japan doesn't mean I'm ready for the aisle just yet. It's been a few weeks and we're still exploring... and _enjoying_... the aftermath. Cue blush.

But you know, we're making huge strides still, together. When I close my eyes, I still see that warm, peaceful eternity on his face. My conviction is stronger than ever: we are going to be together forever. The two of us will always make a great team.

"—but it's yours, and I want you to have it back... it's still a gadget, you know," he's saying when I tune him back in.

"I bet you've had it tweaked again."

He smirks. "Maybe. The stuff did need an upgrade."

I finger the ring. He picks it up and reaches for my right hand. "For now," he says with a wink.

"For now," I agree. It feels wrong on my right hand...

* * *

**that's a wrap. Thanks for stickin' it out here. The epilogue is left, and then I'll post my regular author's note at the end, with disclaimers, shout outs, and fic recommendations (if you want a fic or author to be recommended, shoot me a pm and I'll take a look at it) and then maybe some teasers on what my next projects are about ;) **

**thanks for your support guys.**

**~temporary insanity.**


	27. Epilogue: Hallelujah

_This time we're not giving up  
Let's make it last forever  
Screaming "Hallelujah!"_

_We'll make this last forever..._

_~Hallelujah, Paramore_

* * *

**Epilogue**

**RPOV**

It looks wrong on her right hand. It's something that has irritated me for the past three years, so I intend to fix it today... after we drop off Hana at the airport.

The past three years have been... a lot of hard work. Danni's health got rather worse before it got better... the day care eventually got it right, but Danni and Yori Anne are very sociable, and they share their snacks a lot with others. As a result, Yori Anne has hives every other day and Danni... well, lets just say, thank God for health insurance. Mrs. Dr. P. says that it has to do with their prematurity. Jim and Tim were born at 7 and a half months, and as kids they constantly had asthma and other things. They grew out of them though, to be the Tweebs we all know and love... the ones that annoyed the living crap out of KP.

Oh well... at least there's hope that my baby girls will grow out of it some day.

Which brings me to the topic of the proclivity I've always had to overreact when it comes to them or KP drove me to the brink of insanity... or maybe past it. My problem never fully went away, and I've sort of become an obsessively over-protective dad... or I did until KP talked some sense to me like she usually does. God I love her. She and I get stronger every day. Not that it isn't hard... like I said, I never fully got over it all. I still get nightmares, and I overreact about things. But I'm... _happy. We're _happy. It's the best feeling in the world when I look in Kimmie's eyes, when I see the smiles on the girls' faces, when I watch my baby sister, Hana, grow into an amazing person. Much like KP, the line between sister and daughter blurred a long time ago.

She's nine now, and we're sending her to Japan for the first time alone...well not completely alone. Her trusty friend Julian somehow persuaded his folks to let him tag along. I've taken her the past three years, dropping her off myself so that I can stay with her for two or three weeks. During the school year, she studies hard in MAGIC, and we train her ourselves. Danni and Yori Anne, who look more like their mother every day, took to watching us train Han. They wanted to learn too, so we've taught them a few things.

After our first sparring match, KP loved the turn out and decided to have another one in which each of us would fight for a charity. Fighting cancer, or hunger, or whatever. It's become a huge deal and the Fight Club, as it is now officially named, hosts a charity event twice a year. We've raised more than 250 thousand dollars for different foundations since we started doing it, thanks to really big sponsors, such as the Middleton Pickle Works, the Middleton Police Department, and the local district of Bueno Nacho. So far, the organizations that have won have been organizations such as American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and others like it.

Hana won this time, for this thing called Feeding America that focuses on helping children in homes below the poverty level not to go hungry. She mopped the floor with me, Shego, _and_ KP. That was when we knew she was completely beyond what we were teaching her.

It presented a bit of a problem because I didn't want to leave KP and the twins home while I went to Japan for two months out of the year to teach her mystical monkey stuff. I discussed it with Sensei and he said he would be more than willing to help. We spent Christmas there, the whole family, and we came to the decision that we'd start sending her on her own. Well, Hana told me plainly that she was no child, and that she understood she had a gift that needed to be developed.

Kim choked on her laughter for days. Yeah, I guess I coddle her a little... but she's my baby sister, I'm supposed to do that. In fact, I think I'm entitled.

"I love you, Hana," Kim is whispering into her hair as she hugs her.

"Love you too Kimmie," Han whispers back with a smile.

I hold my arms out and she jumps into them. "I love you Ronnie."

"I love you too, baby girl. Take care of yourself." I squeeze her as tightly as I can, and she giggles. She doesn't smell like candy and innocence anymore, but she still smells like... _Han..._ which is still the best scent in the world.

Julian hugs Kim, his messy blonde hair reminding me of me when I was a kid. "Later, Kim."

"Later sweetie. Take care of my girl," she says and I smirk.

He grins and salutes, tripping on his shoelace as he turns to me. "See ya round Ron."

"You watch my baby girl, you hear?"

He snorts. "She'll be watching me." He takes off after Han, the two laughing lightly at something he says as they pass through security and into the terminal.

"Well that's a wrap," I say when they are gone. "Who's up for some grub?"

Kim raises an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth lifting in a smirk. "You're always hungry."

"You always feed me," I answer with a grin.

She just laughs and pecks my lips.

We stop at the Bueno Nacho drive through before heading home. We do live together now, by the way. We moved in together at my parents' place, where KP and the girls were living, shortly before KP got her job. It's nice to have her with me all the time. It's even better to wake up to my girls squealing and tickling Daddy and such. It's fantastic to be home, together. As a family.

I got her Dance Dance Revolution, and I set it up in the living room so that we can play. We give up after a lot of laughing and dancing. I've beat her six times and she's beat me eight times. The girls giggle and laugh with us, cheering us both on. Little Danni cheers for her mommy, and gets mad at me for making mommy lose.

Yori Anne argues with her, yelling that Daddy is better at dancing than Mommy is.

I wonder who Hana would cheer for. It feels different without her here.

We tuck them into bed and read to them after we tire ourselves out, and we both shower and get ready for bed. She's about to get into bed when I catch her hand. "Let's talk, Kimmie."

She smiles sweetly at me. "What's up?"

I study her hand in mine. It looks like it always belonged there, like pieces in a puzzle that fit together. That belong together, like we do.

Silently, I strip her ring from her hand. She watches me, her eyes shining with love and happiness.

Her voice is amused. "Something you want to ask me, Ronnie?" she smirks.

I nod. "Marry me," I whisper, clutching both of her hands and eventually wrapping my arms around her as my sudden need to be close to her overwhelms me.

She pretends to be thoughtful. "The last time I said yes to you, Armageddon happened."

"This time, if you say yes or no, if Armageddon happens or the sky falls down, or Bueno Nacho goes out of business and Smarty Mart declares bankruptcy, I'm not leaving you."

She chuckles lightly, and the smile on her face makes my heart clench. "I know." She hugs me, her hands rubbing my back. "I'd love to marry you," she says in my ear. She kisses my lips sweetly before answering my cell phone. "It's Dr. Director," she explains, turning away.

"I know," I grumble.

"Did you?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I did. Who else calls at this time of night? Here I'm trying to propose to you and be romantic and—Dr. Director, you better have a fantastic reason for ruining my proposal," I yell so that she can hear me.

Kim and Dr. Director chuckle together for a second after Kim explains what was happening before her _engage-us interruptus_, and then KP puts her on speaker so that she can congratulate us. Then, Kim turns their attention back toward whatever mission has come up.

She works really hard. I remember when she got her current job, and the memory makes me smile as we get up and get ready.

"I have news for you," she had grinned, practically vibrating with excitement.

I'd wrapped my arms around her, kissing her cheek and making my way down to her neck. "What's your news?" I mumbled into her skin.

"Well... I...um, I got—mm, I got the... oh! Stop it we're in public!" She smacked my chest and I dodged her next swing with a laugh.

"Well?"

"I got called back!" she shrieked, jumping into my arms again. "The FBI is offering me the position."

I had to laugh as she bounced around me, squealing. "I told you they would Kimmie." She'd been working toward this since we got back together. She did eventually finish school, at the top of her class as always, and since then she had done nothing but keep up with her training, beef up her resume, and have Wade creep the FBI for even so much as a rumor of an opening in their HQ in Upperton. Finally he heard that some agent was retiring, and that his partner was going to need some back up. She applied and, like I predicted years ago, they were practically panting on the phone when they called her for an interview. Except it wasn't at all for the position she'd applied for.

I still work for GJ. They pay well and the missions keep me exercising my monkey power. Shego and I occasionally team up for some assignment, and she, being her badass self, enjoys leaving behind a mess that I have to explain to the director. Although sometimes the bad guys deserve it, I don't normally appreciate being in the hot seat. KP has come along for the ride a couple times, but for some reason or another I think she's done with GJ. Some part of me used to wonder if Dr. Director would let me jump ship and be KP's partner in the FBI.

Which turns out to be completely unnecessary. Kim is now the liaison between the FBI and Global Justice. She and I have worked together often since she got that position, we eventually moved out of my parents' house and into a penthouse in Upperton, with a view of downtown. She was against using my folks' money to pay for it, but I convinced her. Hehe. I like convincing her to do things. And even though she'll deny it, she likes it when I convince her.

Dr. Director has relegated Shego and I to liaison duties as well, on behalf of GJ. It makes jurisdiction and red tape and other things a lot easier to handle when I can go home and _convince_ Kimmie to do it my way. Cue evil smirk.

Or, sometimes, she convinces me to do it her way. I like that just as much, believe you me.

"Ron" I'm brought back to the present by Kim's beautiful green eyes staring at me as she lowers herself into the car. "Ron, snap out of it. We're on the job, let's go."

"Yes ma'am." I salute her sarcastically and she tries and fails to stifle her laughter before she leans back in the passenger's seat of the car, closing her eyes. We drop of the twins with her mom, and are soon on the way to some crime scene. The digital clock on the dash reads 12:49 AM.

I watch her out of the corner of my eye. "Tired, KP baby?"

She gives an unconvincing smile. "A bit."

"That happens to you a lot these days," I observe, shooting her a look as I make a right turn.

"Don't start, Ron. I'm okay."

"Kim... this is completely serious. If you keep up like this I'm going to tell your boss."

She gives me her bitch-brow.

"KP... fuck sake, please don't over work yourself."

"Stop obsessing like I'm... pregnant or something."

Famous last words.

* * *

"Ron?"

I turn around. "KP?" What the... "Oh hey! There you are," my confusion evaporates as I spot her by the entrance to the GJ offices where I work. I wrap her in my arms, kissing her cheek and her lips. "Hi baby."

"Hey," she smiles.

"What's wrong, Kimmie?"

"Nothing," she says quickly, giggling a little as I trap her in my arms and poke her sides gently.

"Are you sure?" I ask her.

"Just brought lunch from the BN," she says, holding up the paper bag. "Can we talk?" She shoots a meaningful glance at the people around me.

"Yeah." I excuse myself from the conversation I'm having with a couple other agents over a case and look around for a place to talk. I see an empty interview room and motion her into it. "Okay, what's the _real_ sitch? I didn't realize the FBI had stakes in this case."

She shakes her head. "This isn't... um... work related."

I motion her to a seat. "You're... uh... freakin' me out KP what's going on?"

"Um, I left work early. I um, had a doctor's appointment."

I give her a suspicious look as I unwrap my naco. "Doctor's appointment? You didn't feel the need to tell me this in the morning?"

"I figured I should keep it to myself until I was sure."

"Sure of what?"

She smiles softly. "Well I just... you were worried about me, so I got a check—"

"Spit it out, KP," I interrupt, suddenly anxious and more than ready to know what the fuck is going on.

"I'm having a baby."

I'm sorry what?

She sits in silence, watching me blink in confusion.

"I'm sorry," I mumble, completely and utterly baffled. "I thought I just heard you say that you're having a baby."

She clears her throat. "I did..."

I feel a slow smile forming on my face. "You did?"

She smiles back, standing and taking my hands. "I did."

I wrap her in my arms, spinning her around before putting her down, and looking into her eyes. They are sparkling with happiness, and I swallow hard. "Did you really?" I ask, having half a mind to pinch myself and make sure this isn't just a really fuck-awesome dream.

She laughs and nods, amused, I guess, by how thrown I am by the whole sitch.

I just squeeze her in my arms again. "God I love you," I mumble into her hair.

"I love you too," she says, giggling a little bit.

A while later, she says goodbye with a sweet kiss and makes her way home. "Please be safe," I beg her. "I mean it! Fuck sake, KP, put on your seat belt okay? And please actually stop at the stop signs and shit okay? Please_, please,_ Kim. You could get away with it before because you were a teenager and the fate of the world was at stake, but _not anymore!_ If the next thing I hear from you involves the word 'crash' I'm going to keel over and die, understand?"

"I'll be okay, Ron, I promise."

"You should promise instead that you're going to abide by the rules of traffic," I retort.

"Ron!"

I frame her pretty face with my hands, looking into her eyes to let her know I'm being serious. "I'm serious, KP baby. I need you to get back home in one piece."

"I will," she whispers, kissing me again.

"And don't forget to lock up when you get home... and call me, please. Call me so that I know you got home okay."

She just smiles and rolls her eyes. "Yes, Dad."

I hmph and mutter under my breath as she walks away, but my mood isn't ruined. She's having a _baby!_

One of the agents comes to let me know that Dr. Director has scheduled a conference in ten minutes. I sort of ignore her. All I can think is that Kim's having a baby. We're having a baby! And I'll be here.

And I'm not going anywhere.

* * *

I roll over and sigh. I haven't been sleeping... again. Nightmares make me jerk awake, and my overwhelmed mind keeps me that way.

KP is sleeping. Normally she commiserates with me... she's been sick a lot, because of the pregnancy, so she wakes up often. It's good to see her resting. And of course, I being the doting, slightly obsessive daddy-to-be, make her stay home when she gets sick at night or in the early morning. I don't want her sick on the job.

Ugh she shouldn't be working. I already jolt awake to the image of her being horribly injured and losing the baby.

Shaking my head, I focus instead on her breathing. She gives a soft sigh, and I press myself against her back, effectively spooning her. She smiles a little and my fear melts away. God, this girl makes everything better. I can't live without her.

My hand roams toward her tummy. She only just started to show. When she noticed it, I told her with tears in my eyes that she's the most beautiful woman that ever walked this planet. She smiled and kissed me, and we made love.

She moves to rest on her back, and I move to give her space. Her hair is splayed in her face, and I brush it away. I want to kiss her, but that would wake her. At least one of us needs to sleep, and I'd rather it be her. She's so beautiful like this...

"Daddy?"

I jump, not realizing that Danni had opened the door to our room. Lightning from the thunderstorm outside flashes, lighting the room. My little girl flinches a little. I sit up, pulling her into my lap. I kiss her messy hair, and she snuggles into me. "I had a bad dream," she whimpers, sniffling. "An'... I scared. I no wanna sleep cause there's thunder. It's scary."

I sigh. "I had a bad dream too." Kim's gonna have my ass later, but I'm totally not against Danni staying here tonight. "Will you check under Daddy's bed for monsters?"

She giggles and shakes her head, and I chuckle along with her. "Okay then. You can stay here with me, and we'll keep each other's bad dreams away. Okay?"

"Okay."

She scoots under the covers, and I wrap my arms around my baby girl. "Daddy loves you so much."

"I love you too, Daddy," she says into my tee shirt.

"Sweet dreams, little angel."

She's already asleep.

I close my eyes. I'm the luckiest man in on the planet.

* * *

I wake up late. Instead of a sexy redhead in my bed, I've got two little girls and my sister sleeping all over me. It's actually a nice way to wake up. Danni's head has somehow ended up resting on my thigh, her little feet on my shoulder and in my armpit, respectively. Yori Anne is curled up against my chest, trailing drool onto my shirt, and Han's sleeping on my stomach with her legs strewn across the bed.

Apparently nightmares plague the whole house. I'll have to look into getting the place exorcised or something.

"Morning sleepy head."

"Morning, Kimmie," I answer, clearing the sleep from my throat. "When did this happen?"

She giggles, her hand resting lightly on her belly. "Not too long ago. When I woke up, Han and Yori Anne were each standing at the door to their rooms looking a bit lost. They said the storm scared them."

"Oh dear," I mutter. At least I know I don't have to look up exorcists in the Yellow Pages or something. Would you be able to find people like that in the Yellow Pages? In anycase, it would seem that I have to look up a more accurate weather man instead.

"I sent them to you, of course. It was cute watching you guys sleep. I have pictures."

"I want to see them later," I say with a smile.

She nods and ducks out of the room.

Then I frown. How am I supposed to untangle myself from my girls without waking them? Oh dear.

I make it out of bed somehow and stumble into the shower. Today is family day. We're staying in though... maybe we'll get a bunch of movies out and eat popcorn and Twizzlers. I dunno. I'm just looking forward to a whole, un-interrupted day with the four women in my life.

Yes, I have four women in my life. They're the best girls any man could ever ask for. Confusing sometimes, cranky sometimes, but adorable always. I love my girls more than I can explain with words.

After my shower, I slip into some sweats and a tee shirt and head into the kitchen. Deciding to make pancakes, I flip on the radio and reach for the ingredients to make the batter.

_I know a girl...  
She puts the color inside of my world.  
But she's just like a maze  
Where all of the walls are continually changed._

I beat the batter until it's smooth. The guitar continues on quietly, as this singer continues to reflect on how much he loves his girls, too. Sometimes, looking at them does funny things to my heart. It squeezes, and it skips... and it makes me want to give them everything.

_And I've done all I can  
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands.  
Now I'm starting to see  
Maybe it's got nothing to do with me_

_Fathers, be good to your daughters;  
Daughters will love like you do.  
Girls become lovers,  
Who turn into mothers,  
So mothers be good to your daughters, too._

KP wraps her arms around me, leaning into my back. "You okay?"

I turn in her arms, pulling her to me and swaying a little bit. We end up dancing to the rest of the song.

_Oh, you see that skin?  
It's the same she's been standing in  
Since the day she saw him walking away.  
Now she's left  
Cleaning up the mess he made._

Ouch. That stung a little. I did make a mess. A very big, colossal fuck up. But fortunately... my KP, she was strong enough to soldier on. She's strong, and her strength and beauty has made our girls strong too. I squeeze her closer.

_So fathers, be good to your daughters;  
Daughters will love like you do.  
Girls become lovers  
Who turn into mothers  
So mothers, be good to your daughters too._

In the years that have passed since I came home, it wasn't always easy. I had to make up to her a lot. And over time, I realized that she wanted to make up things to me, too. Things that she felt guilty about, things that she'd done wrong.

I'm glad that our love managed to outweigh our mistakes, survive the storm...

"I love you, Ronnie," KP whispers into my shirt.

"As I love you," I say in her ear.

_On behalf of every man  
Looking out for every girl  
You are the guide and the weight of her world..._

* * *

Oh crap, this can't be happening. My worst nightmare is coming true. I was on a three-day assignment in Rio when Dr. Director called me and told me that Kim was in labor. I should never have gone. I would not have gone, but KP insisted she wasn't going to explode if I took my eyes off her for a day or two.

Yeah, I've been pampering her a little bit. Okay, a little more than a little bit. Okay maybe a lot more than a little bit. Leave me alone, I like taking care of my girl. Specially in the morning when she's all cute and cranky. Not so specially when it's two am and I'm on my third grocery store looking for a specific kind of ice cream. And even _less _specially when she got all bossy and nesty a couple months ago. I swear it was like OCD overnight. She cleaned _everything_ a thousand times a day, and God forbid there be a speck of dust anywhere she cleaned or rearranged or worse, a little someone come spilling drinks or leaving crumbs... that shit was bad enough to ruin _everyone_'s day. But, since she's pregnant, she gets away with it.

Oh man, she might not even be pregnant anymore.

Fuuuuck, I curse to myself, narrowly missing a nurse as I desperately make my way to her room at a full sprint. The nurse startles and lets out a squeak that I would find hilarious if I weren't on a mad dash looking for my pregnant slash maybe _not_ pregnant fiancee.

She wanted to work, and she did during her first trimester. I sorta put my foot down when they told her she had some long-ass name complication that starts with a P, so she didn't work the field after that. She started her maternity leave in the final month of her pregnancy, and I'm making sure she rides the desk for a while when she gets back. I don't want her getting hurt.

I wonder where she was when it started...

Since nobody tells me jack _shit_ around here, I had to wait till I got here to ask.

Mother—

"Ron! You're here, thank goodness."

Mrs. Dr. P. appears in my vision somehow, and I skid to a halt, almost falling on my ass. "Is she okay? What happened? Where was she when—"

She chuckles. "Ron, breathe. She's fine. She was at home with me when it started. I was the one who brought her in. Her doctor says everything is going smoothly."

"And the baby?" I gasp, trying to catch my breath.

"Perfect so far."

"And the P-whatever-the-heck-it's-called?"

"Everything is going normally, Ron. Relax."

"Mrs. Dr. P., please please _please_ tell me where she is."

She grins. "You know her father is going to kill you."

I shrug. "Kim's been threatening me for weeks, something about never having sex with me again. If he puts me on a space probe or whatever she'll probably just look on with her fist on her hip and that expression she gets, and she'll ask Wade to double check Dr. P's math too, I bet." The whole sitch is ridiculous anyway, cause Dr. Possible has been nothing but kind to me since we got engaged the first time around. After I came home, we didn't talk much. That's partly my own shame over doing KP the way I did, but he was probably the one person that treated me like he always did... cordially, with respect. Even though we rarely said a word other than a greeting, being around that Mr. Dr. P. has always felt normal.

He's also really just more preoccupied with spoiling the girls. He's with them now, I think they were going to make s'mores.

Mrs. Dr. P. laughs at my comment. "Well if she felt that way before, maybe you should wait until her epidural kicks in before you see her. Her labor has gotten a bit intense, and she's been muttering obscenities for the past few hours."

I roll my eyes. "Great! I left the hornets' nest of weapons traffickers in Rio only to come back to the hornets' nest of my girl the former teen hero turned FBI boss lady and her _dad!_ Shoot me now."

She shakes her head, laughing. "Coffee?" Fairy Miracle-Coffee Godmother Neurosurgeon extraordinaire, otherwise known as Dr. Anne Possible, produces a cup of coffee from fuck knows (or cares) where.

"Goddess among men," I sigh at her, taking the drink from her hands.

"You'll need it. It's three in the morning, and I have a procedure in five hours I can't back out of. I'll be back in the afternoon."

"I take that back," I grumble good-naturedly. Her laughter chases her down the hall. Since I've been... back... she's taken me in with all the love and care my own mother would have. I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law... or non-mother-in-law, as it stands, because at the end of the day, Kim and I are _still_ not married. Soon, though. There's a date.

Our relationship... has healed. It took a long time, and we even started seeing a counselor after I had those panic attacks in my office all those years ago. The counselor was the type of person takes no shit, and she was often blunt about our screw ups, and even more blunt when it came to confronting the roots of our problems. Somehow, I think that her bluntness was just what we needed. It helped us relearn how to talk our issues out the way we always did.

Sometimes we still fight... and sometimes my nightmares come back. The counselor said there was a big chance those wouldn't ever fully go away. But she's been patient, and our bond as friends, and lovers, and best of all, as parents, has gotten deeper than it ever was before. Going through her pregnancy together has helped with that, too. Feeling my son move around inside her and watching her belly grow, and seeing all the sonograms—in person this time—and of course, suffering through her cranky mood swings and cravings and all the other madness brought us together on an entirely different, more intimate level. Now we're going to bring our son into the world, and I couldn't feel more ready.

I slip into Kim's room quietly. She's asleep now, I think. Her eyes are closed, but her face is sweaty and she looks exhausted.

Her eyes open and she gives me a tired smile. "You're here," she whispers.

I kiss her forehead. "Yeah, Kimmie, I'm here," I answer softly.

Her hand comes up to take mine. She squeezes gently at first, then much, _much_ harder when a contraction hits. Her breath comes through her teeth in a hiss.

It's going to be a long night.

* * *

Seventeen hours and forty-eight minutes after Kim went into labor, little RJ as Kim dubbed him, or Ronald Stoppable, Jr. is born, red faced and screaming his little head off, at a decent six pounds, eleven ounces. He looks like Kim's dad. He's got bright red hair, but I'm not convinced he's going to get Possible eyes. He's definitely going to get mine.

KP is sleeping, finally getting some much needed rest after the day she had. I'm standing with little RJ in my arms, looking out the window.

"Hey," a voice whispers, and I smile.

"Hi Shelby." Yes, I started calling her by her real name. And yes, it was because Kim pointed out to me in the way she does, that the green lady's given name is Shelby, and to stop calling her like a fucking villain.

And yes, I had to remind KP about the little ears. And yes, _Shelby_ laughed her ass off for days.

She's still lonely sometimes. I feel sad for her. She hangs out with her brothers sometimes, even though they annoy the living shit out of everyone within five minutes of their arrival, and she hangs out with us. The Greek dude Midas and her aren't seeing each other at all, even professionally, and she doesn't even bother trying to date. The truth is she's not going to get over Drakken. I think she sees him, _conjugally, _in prison, but Drakken's zip-lipped about it as not to ruin her career. After all, an operative of a law enforcement agency should not knowingly, willingly date a criminal... it presents a bit of conflict of interest.

I went to visit him, once, a couple years ago. He muttered about interrupting his chess game and then grilled me about Shelby during the entire time I was there. "Tell her I love her," he pleaded when I left. I did tell her, over lunch at work the next day. She gave a sad smile and excused herself, citing that she had some paperwork to do. She was quiet the rest of the day. She looked better a couple of days later, and I suspect to this day that she went to see him.

They've worked out a rather interesting way to stay together, but sometimes I can see that she's a bit out of it after she visits him.

I can see that strange nostalgia in her eyes now as she watches me with my son from the door. She wanted a family, she wanted a life of her own with kids of her own... she's got mine and KP's, though. Living vicariously, she says with a smile when the subject comes up. She's their official Godmother now. The twins, Hana, and even Julian all call her Auntie Shelby. And she just about melts when they do. I tease her when they pout her into buying them things. She's just as helpless against the Possible PDP as the rest of us, even though she vehemently denies it.

I hold baby RJ out to her and she smiles brightly, the sadness leaving her eyes as she takes him into her arms, cooing at him softly. KP's eyes flutter open, and she watches Shelby in silence for a moment, a small smile on her face. Her eyes meet mine and we both seem to be thinking the same thing: it's good to see her like this.

* * *

RJ is doing fantastically. He's coming up on eight weeks old. Two months. Wild and crazy months. I've loved every moment. His hand-prints decorate a space on my body, just like Danni and Yori's do.

Well the day finally came. Tim's wedding day. What? The _Tweebs_ getting _married?! _When aliens invade the earth maybe—oh, they already did. Don't worry. Tim's heard all the jokes already, and he just laughs along... although Jim, his best man, made a toast just now that had everyone roaring in laughter and Tim and Sophie hiding their faces in humiliation. Score for Jim.

Jim is engaged to be married at the end of this year. Not to Dana, the chick from high school, but to another girl. Her name is Sonata, but we all call her Sonny. Apparently, Kim knows her from USC. And we also apparently saved her hometown from being destroyed in an avalanche... ages ago. Jim is three years older than her or something like that, and they didn't go to the same school... and Kim didn't introduce them, so I honestly have no clue how they met. But they are happy. They kind of happy that makes you feel like you drank a gallon of pure sugar water when you're around them. Or worse, that stuff they made KP drink when they were testing her for gestational diabetes.

I digress.

Josh and Jenny are happily married for four years now. Jeannie jumped the broom last year with a guy KP has deemed 'dreamy' and they moved back to Jeannie and Jenny's hometown. Monique married some guy she met in Milan, and is happily designing fashions that Kim loves to buy, even though they are expensive as fuck. Even Wade went ahead and eloped without telling anyone... until his relationship status on Facebook randomly said 'Married' one day, and KP and I grilled him until he finally spilled the beans. The guy ran off and got married! He didn't even bother telling anyone either.

I bet his wedding was some super-secret cyber-ceremony too. If that's true, whoever married him is fucking special. I don't know any girl that would want to be married over the internet.

Oh well. I guess that just leaves me and Kim. We are going to change that soon...

Mrs. Dr. P., who has a severe case of empty nest syndrome, has decided to accept a foster child in the Possible home. At the request of Sensei, _again_, a beautiful little girl named Suki is comfortable in her new home in Middleton. Mr. Dr. P. spoils her just as bad as he spoils our girls. Kim adores her, and I spoil her rotten. She really is adorable. Hana wants to take her back to Japan in the summer, to see her friends and such. Suki was simply abandoned at the base of Mt. Yamanouchi at the tender age of eighteen months, and became Sensei's ward. So there is no mystical power that we know of... yet...

My thoughts sadden a little. Sensei became very sick a couple months after RJ was born, which is why he sent Suki to us. He passed away a few weeks later, at the ripe old age of one-hundred and eight.

"You okay, baby?" Kim whispers in my ear.

"Yes, thank you, Kimmie," I answer, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I love you."

She returns the sentiment and studies me for a moment before turning back to her conversation. She takes me hand and doesn't let go of it for the rest of the night.

* * *

Tim's first year of marriage passed peacefully. So did Jim's. Kim and I did tie the knot in a private ceremony, followed by a honeymoon/family getaway to Shelby's island in Greece, shortly after RJ turned four months old. Our first year of marriage passed peacefully too, and over the years, things settled down a lot.

KP and I are stronger than ever. There are no more babies for us... oh God, please no more babies for us. Our four are more than enough. And yes, we have four. Three months after being married, we formally adopted Hana... although I think she will always be a baby sister to me in a way, to both of us. I think Han feels the same. She addresses us as Kimmie and Ronnie still, and when she asks about our parents, she calls them mom and dad. Sometimes I'm surprised by her memories of them. They are always good ones, and that makes me happy even though their death still saddens me. I'll always miss them, and there's a big hole in our family where they should have been.

Shelby has looked brilliant these days. When I asked her what she's got up her butt, she told me Drakken is set for a parole hearing in five years. He was originally sentenced to life. I guess Dr. Director did pull some strings, after all.

Sonny and Sophie have become the best of friends. They shared in their own pregnancies, and I'm now the proud uncle of baby Emma Lynn Possible and Marion Possible. They are sweet baby girls with dark hair like their dads and bright Possible eyes, as I call them.

The girls did eventually out-grow their ailments, and it was a huge sigh of relief to both of us when we stopped getting calls from their school about their health. Now we're hardpressed to contain them. I think with a chuckle back to the time Jim and Tim were baby sitting them so that KP, Sophie, and Sonny could have a girls night while I worked. When we arrived at Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P's house later on, there was slime everywhere. When I asked, afraid to know the answer, Jim and Tim mumbled something about Danni and Yori Anne mixing up finger paint, raw eggs, and one of their old _bonding recepies_ that they had found. Kim and I just looked at each other, and then Kim burst into laughter, chortling about how they don't have to be boys to be Tweebs.

I just shook my head and told them to clean up before Grandma and Grandpa found out about it.

Between Han and Julian, who are now thirteen years old (holy shit, time flies. Last I checked, she was three. Now she's hitting puberty and I'm keeping plasma lasers by the door) Suki, who is five now, Yori Anne and Danielle, who are ten, Zoey, Marion and Emma, who are three, and RJ who is four, and now Sophie's one-year-old, Carolyn, the Possible Family Reunions we quickly learned are better in a place that serves children.

Places like JP Bearymore's Pizza Party-torium.

KP and I might as well be kids too, for all the games we play, tickets we end up winning, and bickering we do when one of us loses. The Tweebs are not far behind, because although they are fully adult men with families, they still get ridiculously excited about getting the highest score on S_pace Squids_.

Whatever.

Shelby's house is a hit with the kids too, and she doesn't mind at all. We play board games and swim in her pool and barbeque, and she sits and enjoys the sun, and the atmosphere. I think Lady Dr. Possible adopted her too, at some point. The two women have become fast friends.

So although Shelby doesn't exactly have her _Principe Azul_ just yet, she still gets a happy ending; she has the family she always wanted, because she is part of our family now. And KP and I both have let her know that various times.

I catch my wife's eyes—yes, I have one of those, and she's the best, bon-diggety-est, coolest, strongest, most special and amazing wife ever—and smile at her. She winds her way through the sea of Possibles to reach me, pressing her lips to mine as my arms wind around her waist (every woman in the world would be jealous of her figure _before_ knowing that she's had three kids... damn, my woman is _fine!)_ and I grin internally. "I love you," she says into my shirt as I squeeze her close to me.

"I love you too."

We sway to the music peacefully.

After all my mistakes... after all the tragedy and all the heartbreak we went through trying to get our shit together, we finally have our happily ever after, too.

I think a hearty 'Boo-yah' is in order, don't you?


	28. disclaimer and fic recommendations

**Woooooooowwww! Well I'm sad and glad that we've reached the end of this fic.**

**The first thing I want to do is thank by name the people that have supported me in this fic. _Roll credits!_**

* * *

Beta editors:

**Sentinel103- thank you thank you thank you! for encouraging me to post and for continuing to encourage in PMs. I'm glad I stumbled across you and your story (which made it into my fic recs, btw hehe)**

**levi2000a1- I couldn't have made this as good as I did without you pushing me as hard as you did. Thank you doesn't cover it. **

Follows:

**Anthony1l**

**Jimmy1201**

**Magic Flying Spud**

**Mahler Avatar**

**Pokeshipping Gwevin forever**

**Ryuukage**

**Shadenight123**

**TheBaldOneMpls**

**The Solar Surfer**

**brokenlover223**

**levy120**

**pattie103**

**pcfreak30**

**siege98**

**zafnak**

Favorites:

**CajunBear73**

**DocTwig**

**FlippinFranky**

**JP1124**

**Jencat12**

**kptwistepghost**

**marcus s. lazarus**

**RonAndKim**

**Snowman106**

**yummi-sensei**

**zane34**

**mineno16**

Follows and Faves:

**AvengersGirl-LokisSpy**

**Cap-puccino-addict**

**Kpkaila4EVER**

**LyshaLuvsSeddie**

**Rider V3 Stoppable**

**Slohndify**

**The Paranoid**

**Uberscribbler**

**maggiethecutter**

**trachie17**

**zanderh11**

**you guys rocked my world with your comments, faves, and follows. I appreciate it all more than you guys will ever know.**

* * *

**The next thing I'm going to do is the dumb boring stuff. So here goes, and let's get it over with quickly:**

**1- all recognizable characters in this story are property of Disney, Inc. I only made their lives hell for a few chapters... hehe. I am also not receiving anything in return for the posting of this story except deep satisfaction that you all got to read it.**

**2- MAGIC is a school that I made up myself. I will probably use it in more than one story, but it is my property and I ask that I can be forewarned before it's used elsewhere.**

**3- the credits for all the songs and quotes in this story are already given. All lyrics were courtesy of metrolyrics dot com.**

* * *

**That wasn't so bad was it? Cool now lets get on to things you guys should read while I'm getting my new stuff cranked out. These are all stories/series I've read or am in the process of reading that I think you guys should check out too, or stories I've put out myself that I really want you guys to see.**

Oneshots:

_**~A Thief, Perhaps, That Listens, **_**Crystal Allen. It's sorta sad, but I think it's written beyond fantastically. Drakken/Shego. teaser: Shego visits Drakken at his final resting place. DrakkenPOV.**

_**~So The Bedtime Story, **_**Pinky Jo Curlytail. This is just... awesome. I love it. Kim/Ron. teaser: Kim and Ron tuck in their daughter, telling her all about the magic of how they fell in love.**

_**~The Horror, **_**Fabius Maximus. Probably the most hilarious thing I've ever read in two hundred words or less. teaser: Something horrific has happened in Middleton High...**

_**~The Worst Way Possible **_**and its sequel, ****_The Worst Flight Possible, _TheBaldOneMpls. I about died laughing reading these. Kim/Ron. teaser: Kim's... _non-virginal _status is revealed at a very embarrassing yet convenient time. Her mom and dad handle it in a way that you have to read to believe. Parents, here's how you deal with your kids taking the next step.**

_**~When She Falls, **_**ZorpoxTheConquerer. One of the sweetest oneshots I've read here, and I think I'll add it to what I call "Tributes to the Essential Ronness" because I like how the author portrays him and his relationship with Kim. Kim/Ron friendship. teaser: 9 year old Ron learns a very important, life long lesson when Kim has an accident. **

_**~Brave **_**and ****_The Wind Beneath My Wings, _temporaryinsanity91. Also 'Tributes to the Essential Ronness' as I call them. Also, I sorta consider _Brave _my songfic masterpiece. But that's just me, let me know how you like it. Kim/Ron. teaser: Kim and Ron reflect on Ron's heroism and where it came from in the days after graduation. **

Chapter Fics:

_**~Yes It Can Be **_**and ****_Deep Within, _RandomInspiration. Very cute recounting of some favorite episodes, and a sequel that has started off fantastically. I like them both a lot. Kim/Ron. **

_**~The Truth About Kim and Ron, **_**Unheard Flipper. Okay, so I'm catching up on the spinoff that Sentinel and CajunBear have been working up in a series of oneshots. I hadn't read them through all the way cause I always get busy, but I have read some, and I have to say, this is ****_veeeeryyyy _different than the show. But still, I think it's cool, and I think you guys will like it. But read the chapter fic by Unheard Flipper first, it's only got three chapters.**

_**~The Hunter, Book One, **_**Sentinel103. So I think... for this, you've got to read ****_Metatron _before starting into this one. Some things didn't make sense to me till I read that one. But hey. This fic rocks my socks, and I'm not just saying that cause he's my beta. I'm saying it cause it's true. **

_**~Kim Possible: Of Riders and Shockers, **_**Rider V3 Stoppable. Okay, this guy is new at KP fan fiction, and I think you guys should help him out the way you've helped me out. The story is sorta crossover-ish. But hey, there are some excellent writers around here, so help him out!**

_**~Given The Situation, **_**temporaryinsanity91. So, these are more "Tributes to the Essential Ronness" and such. They are just little drabbles I've written to get my writing engines warmed up, and I think you guys will find them to be touching. I love them, and I'll probably keep writing and adding to this for a very ****_very _long time.**

_**~Across The Stars **_**and ****_Between The Stars, _Mahler Avatar. MA... I'm sorry I haven't been reviewing these days, so here's my review. THESE STORIES RULE LIKE MONKEY POWER ON STEROIDS! Hehehe.**

_**~Monkey's Tail I, II, **_**and ****_III, _levi2000a1. I liked these a lot. They are quite dark, but I like them just the same. In this same story line falls _Broken Hearts, Broken Minds, _and the newest addition which I'm enjoying very very much so far, _Something Old, Something New, Nothing Stoppable, Everything Possible. _You guys need to read the wedding story at the very least, it's cool.**

**That's all for now... I got a bunch of other stories and authors recommended to me, but I _am _a college student with a job... I don't sleep much as it is without adding like 50 other stories to it. But I will catch up on them all, and I'll recommend my favorites the next time I've got to do this. So by all means, if you've written something you'd like to see posted, or if you know any cool stories for me to read, post em in a review here, and I will get to them as soon as I can.**

* * *

**Thanks again for everything, specially to the people that edited my story, to my reviewers, and to everyone who followed and/or favorited. You guys rule harder than monkey power on steroids, too. **

**cheers,**

**~temporary insanity**


	29. a thanks, but not an update

**Hey guys... didn't think you'd see this in your inbox did you?**

**That you are is only an epic thanks to you for your support in this story and the others that I've posted. So again, thank you. **

**I'm posting this short note for a simple reason: I need your votes!**

**It's voting time in the Fannie Awards and this story is nominated for the following:**

_**best drama**_

_**best villain**_

**you can find the info on how to vote at triple W dot fanfiction dot net slash topic/329/86054354/1/2012-Fannie-Voting-step-1. **

**Thanks to the ppl who nominated this story, and thanks to everyone that makes it over there to vote for their favorites.**

**Best of luck!**

**-temporary insanity**


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